-Sai-

Morning comes too quickly for my taste. I awake with the tang of iron in my mouth, my tongue dry and raspy in my throat from breathing through the night. My back is sore and aching where the tree's knots cut into it, but I welcome the ache as a distraction from the tiredness and the residual disgusting taste on my palate. At least the ache tells me we're no longer underground.

I fell asleep quickly last night after my conversation with Axel on the way back from the other clearing, though I'm not sure how I managed it with such a racing pulse and such excited thoughts.

The conversation we had was one I had wanted to bring up with him all day, ever since I had figured it out upon our arrival in the woods outside the city, but had not had time to discuss with him since he had been so busy with the interrogations. As soon as I sensed that Naxanz wanted a moment alone with her sister, I took the opportunity to pull him off by myself, walking through the forest at his side. I let us get a suitable distance away from the earshot of the girls before I asked, "You love her, don't you? Naxanz's sister."

The response was immediate and exactly the one I expected, involving a lot of choking and stuttering at first, followed by a hasty "No!" followed by a pause, and then concluded by a reluctant, but sincere, "…Yes."

I smiled, though not out of smugness or triumph; it was a smile of relief that I finally had a real connection to him that we both knew about.

"And you love Nax, don't you?" he asked. I could hear the tone in his voice, exactly the same as mine had been.

"Yes, I do," I replied simply. "With all my heart."

"Why does she hate you?" he asked, after a pause.

I remember wincing at that. The question stung—stings—even now that she's slightly reconciled with me. I can sense the lingering confusion and bitterness every time she is near me, and it hurts me with a very real pain in my chest.

"It is a very long and convoluted story," I sighed, "but it started with… something I said. Five very simple, very short words, but spoken together in a sentence, they were effectively enough to break her heart, and before she had forgiven me, I betrayed her trust, quite by accident, but in an unforgivable way."

"So you messed up," Axel said quietly. I recall clearly the sympathy in his tone, combined with the slight resignation that I heard; I knew it was a resignation not to feel too bad for me, no matter what, because I had brought this situation on myself.

My respect and like for Axel rise higher with each passing moment. He is genuinely someone, besides Naxanz, that I feel that I could trust with my life. Despite having his rash and emotional moments, he's intelligent and clever, and most of all, loyal.

"I messed up," I admitted to him. "I messed up quite badly, and I've destroyed any love she might have felt for me back when we were simply living in the Diviners' Compound."

"That sucks, man," he said regretfully. "I don't know what I'd do if that happened with me and Lisi."

"Why do you call her Thexsil to her face and Liseth in private?" I asked, truly curious.

"I call her Thexsil to her face because she said she wanted a new name to symbolize sort of a passage from her old life," he said. "I call her Liseth in private because I was the only one from the Guild that she told her old name, and I was the only one she told how much she missed her House and her parents and her sister. She's Lisi to me in private because that's who she is in her heart."

I smiled slightly at that. "You seem to know her very well."

"I'd like to think I do," he said, and I could hear his shrug. "I know she knows more about me than anyone else does. The only thing I didn't tell her was my old name."

"Lea?" I asked, remembering it from when Naxanz's friend Pyra said it during the escape.

"That's me," he confirmed. "Lea Hokama. Well… it was me."

"It still is," I told him quietly. "Just because you're an Assassin doesn't change who you are in your heart. And if you're still Lea in your heart, then that's who you are forever."

He laughed slightly, and I remember the tinges of sadness and gratitude that colored that laugh. "Thanks, Sai."

"…Isa," I corrected him after a pause. My heart jumped slightly when I said it. It had—has—been almost an age since anyone called me by that name.

"Isa?" he repeated, curious.

"Isa Rain," I said quietly. "That is… me."

"…Isa, then," he said, clapping me on the shoulder slightly.

We reached the main campsite shortly after that and went our separate ways to find places to sleep, and I ended up curled against the tree whose knobs now bite into the flesh of my back, which I am sure will be extremely sore for the rest of the day, if not bruised black and blue.

Slowly, I stand, stretching out every kink in every joint of my body to the rhythm of my exhalations, listening as the bones pop and crackle beneath my skin, settling into their places unwillingly. There is a creeping greyness behind my blindfold this morning, which means that the moon reached its zenith last night and will now be on the wane, and my blindness will return for another three weeks.

Today is the day that we begin to organize this resistance into something more than a bunch of scared escapees hiding in the forest, and as loath as I am to admit any sort of emotion, the thought excites me, my pulse jumping as I remember. Though I may be Master, I believe it is easy for these others to forget that I am young; younger even than some of them are, and beneath my calm, I am as eager to fight as any of them, and perhaps more so. This conflict has ignited a searing flame of personal rage within my soul, and one that is not so easily doused. My sister has elevated her hatred past a simple hatred of me, to a physical movement against my Guild.

Now, she will get the fight she so desires.

From what I can hear, I have risen early, though such a thing is not extraordinary for me. Even when I lived in Maison Etoile, on a nearly-nocturnal schedule, I was one of the first to rise in the evening and the last to sleep when morning came. I would imagine that the sun is only just beginning to rise, if I could see it. I have not seen the sun, however, since I left House Rain.

Closing my eyes beneath the blindfold, I cast my Sight out, trying to sense the auras of those around me. At first, the forty or so auras mingle together indistinguishably, but slowly, as I wake up, I begin to be able to discern one from the other. Most of them are auras that I do not recognize, although I can differentiate between Diviner and Assassin. Finally, I find who I am looking for; Naxanz is still asleep, close beside the slowly-familiarizing auras of her two friends, Pyra and Emi. Some distance away from them, I can sense Axel's aura, a bright and fiery presence even when he is resting. Near him, but distant enough I know that they are not touching, is Liseth. Toran's aura is nowhere to be sensed, but I know that he will be off in the woods keeping guard over the young Assassin boy, Roxas, who is also absent.

Finally possessed of a decent awareness of where everyone is, I can begin to make my way through the camp and toward the river without stepping on anyone. I am fortunately rather direction-oriented, but even if I were not, my sense of hearing is elevated enough to let me hear the faint whisper that I know is the river some distance away rushing against the stones of its banks.

Exhaling slightly, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead, I pass through the camp quietly and slip off through the foliage.

-Nax-

When I wake up, the sun is shining brightly through the trees above, almost blinding me as my eyes open. I squint them tightly shut, raising an arm instinctively to shield my sight. The darkness behind my eyelids is tinted the faint red of sunlight-illuminated flesh, bright and glaring even with my eyes squeezed closed. It takes me several moments before I am even willing to open them the slightest bit, letting my eyes gradually adjust to the light assaulting my corneas.

The clearing is flooded with bright daylight, and all around me, people are either waking up or already awake and milling about, sitting in clumped circles or leaning against trees, looking lost. Pyra and Emi are still asleep beside me; in the daylight, it's much easier to see the residual sticky tearstains across Emi's cheeks, as well as the deep circles under her eyes and cheekbones. She doesn't look healthy at all. I hope she isn't getting sick, because if I lost Mika and Emi, I don't know what I would do.

Slowly, I shove myself to my feet, bending over backward and letting my vertebrae click themselves painfully into place. Today is the day we begin organizing ourselves into something like a real resistance. Hopefully, everything will go like we want it to, without any setbacks or mishaps. If not… well, I'll try not to let my thoughts wander there. No point in jinxing the entire operation with worry.

After I've stretched all the kinks out of my muscles and joints, I glance around, trying to spot some sign of Axel, Saïx, or Liseth. They're the ones who will know exactly how we're executing these plans I came up with.

I can't see Saïx or Liseth anywhere, but I catch sight of Axel leaned against a tree nearby, conversing animatedly with Zane. Axel is one of those people who uses his hands a lot when he speaks, and right now his fingers are flying, gesturing broadly as he makes some point or another, his eyes lit with energy and drive. I smile slightly. Somehow, I think Axel would make the perfect big brother.

Zane turns to go, and I start moving, approaching the other tree at a normal walking speed, my steps soft and quick on the earth beneath my bare toes. Axel looks up as I approach, grinning at me. The purple teardrop stains on both cheeks serve only to enhance the mischief in the expression, his turquoise eyes sparking again.

"Morning, Nax," he says, waving at me. He seems to be in an exceptionally upbeat mood this morning.

"Morning, Axel," I reply, unable to repress a grin in return. Something about Axel's emotions is just contagious somehow.

"Ready for this?" he asks, clapping his hands together and then rubbing his palms, seeming almost to vibrate with energy.

"If by 'this,' you're referring to the plan, then absolutely," I say, cocking my head to the side with a small smile.

He laughs. "That's what I like to hear."

"What are we doing today?" I ask him, feeling my heartbeat beginning to accelerate slightly as I transition from groggy half-alertness into preparation for the day's events.

"Two objectives to accomplish today," Axel says. Then, pausing, he amends his statement. "Well, two and a half."

"A half?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Please explain, sir."

He smirks at me. "You're a smart aleck. I like you."

I snicker. "Thanks. The plan?"

"Right." He nods, moving on, though a ghost of the smirk remains. "The plan for today is to send a team of resistance Assassins to get the remaining Diviners out of the Diviners' Quarter."

"Only Assassins?" I question him.

He nods again. "Only Assassins. The reason for that being that while they'd probably trust Diviners more, having an extra few party members who can't use a blinding cloak and who've spent the last month being malnourished and abused would slow down the evacuation, and we can't really afford that."

I tilt my head, but can't refute his logic. He may be a hothead, but Axel isn't stupid.

"And the other one and a half objectives?" I press.

"We, meaning me, Thex, Toran, Sai, and you," he says, jerking a thumb between himself and me, "are going to go to the Guild complexes of the Knights, Freeshooters, and Sorcerers and request aid from them. Hopefully, even if the Guilds won't put their full support behind us, they'll at least give us some extra people to build up a fighting force. Or even some supplies would be nice."

"That's only one objective," I say. "And what about Zane? Why aren't we bringing him? He seems to be important out here."

"He's important because he knows plants and medicines and poisons," Axel says, rolling his eyes. "He's also impulsive and got a big mouth, and if he opened it in front of a Guildmaster, he might get us all killed."

I shrug; he's got a point. Then, a sudden question rises to my lips, without it meaning to. "Axel, how old is Zane?"

"Zane?" Axel puts a finger to his chin, thinking. "I'm pretty sure he's twenty-four. Why?"

"He's older than Saïx," I say, the realization hitting me. "And yet… he does what Saïx tells him to."

"Sai commands a certain level of… respect," Axel says, serious for once. "He might not be that old, but the way he talks and how he acts makes him seem like the oldest and wisest person in any room."

"Thank you for the compliment."

I almost scream at the sudden voice from behind me; whirling around faster than I think I've ever moved before. Axel jumps too, and I see the startled flare in his turquoise irises.

Saïx stands behind us, a slight smile touching his lips, one hand pressed against the trunk of the tree that he leans on. His eyes are still shielded by the blindfold, but I can almost imagine the amusement shimmering in their vibrant golden depths. Immediately, I shove the image away. I am not ready to confront my emotions at this moment.

"That was not funny," I say pointedly, putting a hand to my chest and feeling my heartbeat slowly calming down.

"What?" Saïx asks, tilting his head innocently, his smile widening ever so slightly.

"You—"Axel breaks off his sentence, laughing, his eyes squinted shut with merriment. I don't understand what's so funny, so I just stand there watching him, my pulse settling gradually.

Finally, Axel calms down, still grinning. "Nice one."

Saïx shakes his head. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Axel." And yet still that smile lingers, and Axel just shakes his own head in reply.

"Right. Sure," the redhead teases. "And by the way, you're welcome for the compliment."

Saïx laughs slightly, the sound seeming to disperse and be sucked away by the trees around us, lost in the warm June morning. Then his face becomes serious again, and he stands straight, taking his hand away from the tree trunk. "Where is Thexsil?"

"Thex is out at the river," Axel says. "She wanted to clean up before the mission, apparently." He grins, but the expression isn't quite so mischievous; it's more affectionate and sympathetic. "My guess is she wanted some routine back."

"What about Toran?" I ask, remembering the other member of our team.

"Toran?" Saïx looks confused. I give him an odd look; I know he knows who Toran is.

"Toran's…" Axel smacks his forehead suddenly, giving a rough, harsh exhale. "Toran's with Roxas. He's supposed to watch him out in the woods today. Kingdom Hearts." He swears so loudly that I look at him in surprise.

"Can't we just go with one less person?" I ask. "Is it that big of a deal?"

"Actually, yes, it is," Axel says, growling with frustration. "It's kind of a rule for walk-in audiences with Guildmasters. It has to be a party of at least five, because that's the minimum number for a diplomatic envoy."

I glance at Saïx. "Is that true?"

My Guildmaster nods in affirmation. "He is correct. And now we are one party member short."

"We could always bring Zane," I say, but Axel is already shaking his head.

"No way. Not risking it," he cuts me off. "We need someone else…"

There is a long moment of silence, the three of us searching our minds for anyone else we could bring on this mission.

"Wish I'd thought of this before…" Axel mutters, rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Wait," I say, an idea popping into my head. "Does it have to be any specific number of Assassins and Diviners, or just a minimum number of people, period?"

"It just has to be a minimum of five people," Axel says, tilting his head. "Why?"

"We could bring Pyra and Emi," I say.

Axel looks thoughtful for a moment, clearly considering my words. "Are either of them prone to making rude and irreversibly thick-headed statements?"

"No more than you are," I reply, smirking slightly at him.

He grins. "Touché." Then his expression calms again. "We'll bring them. That should at least solve the numbers problem."

"You forgot to explain the other one-half of our objective," I remind him, raising an eyebrow.

"Right," he says, nodding. "The other one-half is to send more Assassins to… uh… requisition as much food and supplies as they can until we can get legitimate help."

"We're going to steal?" I ask uncomfortably.

"It's either that or starve," Axel says, shrugging. "Your call."

I sigh. Sometimes I guess sacrifices have to be made in order to survive. "No, you're right."

"It's not like we'll be stealing forever," Axel says, a little more gently. "After we can get some help, we won't have to."

"I know," I say, shaking my head.

He ruffles my hair lightly, in an affectionate big-brother way. "Cheer up, Nee-chan."

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

He laughs. "Nee-chan means 'little sister' back in my House."

I feel a smile creeping over my lips despite my attempts to hold it back. "Thanks, Axel."

"'Course," he says, grinning. "Now, let's go find your sister."

We find Liseth as she is just returning from the river, her wet violet hair pulled back into a tight ponytail that clearly shows all the defined angles of her pale, heart-shaped face. Her scar seems to stand out in especial prominence against her skin, vivid, angry red against the soft flesh beneath. A spark of anger and bitterness flashes through me at the sight, but I push it away and smile at her as we approach.

"Morning, Thex," I call to her, making sure to remember to use her Assassin name.

"Good morning," I hear Axel and Saïx echo behind me in quick succession.

"Morning!" Liseth calls to us, smiling. She increases her pace to meet us, hugging first me, then Axel, and then, to my surprise, putting her arms around Saïx in an affectionate embrace. I feel another flash through my heart, and shove it down again, unwilling to admit what it might have been.

"Someone's huggy this morning," Axel says, laughing.

"Just feeling better now that we've got a plan," Liseth replies, letting go of Saïx and bouncing over to stand next to Axel. "I always get hyper when there's things to do."

"Well calm down, sugar rush," Axel teases her, poking her in the side. She shrieks in a high-pitched voice, and then, in return, she thumps him on the arm, laughing and rolling her eyes.

"Come on, you two, before I die of cuteness," I cut in, smirking. "We have plans to carry out."

"Whatever you say, party pooper," Axel replies, grinning back at me. "Let's go get our other two envoy members."

"Two?" Liseth asks curiously. "What about Toran?"

"We forgot; he's with Roxas," Axel says. "He can't come, so we're bringing two of the Diviners."

"Who?" Liseth tilts her head, eyebrows raised.

"Pyra Hokama and Emi Rain," I say. "Friends of mine. We can trust them."

"Oh, I remember them," Liseth says, nodding. "Where are they?"

"Asleep, I think," I say, pointing back toward where I came from. "Over there, against one of the far trees. Follow me."

They nod, and we turn and march back across the clearing to the foot of the tree where Pyra and Emi are still asleep, some of the last ones to remain so.

Liseth bites her lip when she catches sight of Emi's face, looking worried. "Is she all right?"

I sigh, looking down at my friend's tearstained cheeks. "I… don't know. She was hurt pretty badly by the Assassins. In… in her heart."

Axel shakes his head, his eyes narrowed. "If there's one thing Sirix's minions know, it's how to cause emotional trauma." He kneels down and looks at Emi's face more closely, tilting his head. "I'm sorry they hurt your friend."

"It isn't your fault," I say, grateful for his sympathy all the same.

"We should wake them," Saïx says, the first words he has spoken in a long while. His mouth is a thin, tight line, and if I could see his eyes, I would imagine them full of hostile bitterness.

I nod. "Axel, I think I should probably…"

"Yeah, you're right," he agrees, straightening up and stepping back.

I take his place, kneeling down in front of Pyra and Emi. Inhaling softly, I reach out a hand and shake Pyra's shoulder, calling her name quietly. "Pyra. Pyra, wake up."

She blinks her teal eyes open almost immediately, glancing around through the haze of sleep that still hovers over her. "Whaaa…?"

"Time to wake up," I murmur. "It's morning, and we need your help. Yours and Emi's both."

She yawns widely, her arms unwinding from around Emi slowly. My other best friend also blinks awake at the movement, her amber eyes fogged over as well. She raises a hand to rub them, smearing the sticky tear-shimmers across her cheeks.

"What's goin' on?" she mumbles through a face-stretching yawn.

"We need your help," I repeat. "Both of you."

Once Pyra and Emi have both woken sufficiently to understand and reply in coherent words, we explain our situation to them.

"We're going on what you could basically call a diplomatic mission," Axel says, his hands resting on his hips as he outlines our objective. "We're going to go to the headquarters of the other Guilds of the city and ask their Guildmasters for some help. Originally, we were going to take Toran Rain, but he's got another assignment today, and you two were the first ones that Nax thought of who'd be trustworthy enough to take, so congratulations, you're recruited."

"And… what do you need us to do exactly?" Pyra asks, sounding confused still.

"Nothing, really," Axel shrugs. "Mostly everyone besides Sai will just be there to watch. We just need an envoy of at least five people because of stupid diplomacy rules."

"Who is Sai?" Emi interrupts, shaking her head.

Axel looks lost for a moment, until Saïx puts a hand on his shoulder. "I forgot," he said quietly, a slight smile touching his lips. "No one knew my name in the city."

"Oh… was it a secret?" Axel looks slightly abashed. "Sorry."

"It no longer needs to be secret." Saïx shrugs. "He was referring to me.

Both Emi and Pyra seem slightly awestruck as soon as Saïx speaks; it takes me a moment to remember that to them, he is still the Master of the Diviners' Guild, someone to be revered and slightly feared.

"Okay, moving on," Axel says quickly, sensing the rising tension and quickly dispelling it. "Basically, all we're doing is being his entourage for this little excursion. That being said, we probably don't want to do it looking like we do now."

We all, except for Saïx, give Axel a curious look, prompting explanation.

"We all look like we just escaped a month of torture," he clarifies. "And everyone who was in the cells has dirty clothes and just basically looks… like prisoners. Because you were," he adds quickly, "and not to be rude at all. I'm not trying to be offensive. But if we want this to work, we have to look like leadership."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Pyra asks him, giving him a look. Liseth gives Pyra a funny look at that, and I can tell she's jealous of the closeness between the two Hokama cousins.

"We'll have to get clothes from somewhere," he says, shrugging.

"We could go to Maison Etoile," I offer, tilting my head. "All of our clothes are still there, and I'm sure you and Thex could borrow some, Axel."

Axel cocks his own head, thinking, and then nods slowly. "I think you're right, Nax. Good plan. We'll go there first, dress to impress, and then head out."

I snicker when he says 'dress to impress,' but I nod in agreement all the same. It sounds like a workable plan to me, and I will admit that the idea of being able to change clothes is wonderful.

"When is the evacuation team to leave?" Saïx asks.

"Zane's handling that," Axel says. "It should be sometime soon, or he might have already left. I haven't seen—oh, no, there he is, and there's his team. They're about to leave." He gestures across the clearing at a small huddle of about seven or eight Assassins, including Zane.

"Excuse me," Saïx says quietly, turning. "I would like a word with him before he departs." Without another word to us, he walks away, footsteps nearly silent on the leaf-strewn ground.

There is a long moment of silence, and then Emi says, "His name is Sai?" Her tone is colored with surprise and almost disbelief.

"Saïx," Axel amends. "I call him Sai because he's my friend." He pauses for a second. "Actually, I never really asked if I should do that… hope it's not annoying, because it's a habit now." He grins.

"Saïx," Emi repeats, still seeming awestruck.

"Why the surprised look, Em?" I ask her, giving her a curious eyebrow-raise.

"It just… makes him seem so much more like a normal person to actually have a name," she says slowly.

I laugh at that, unable to stop myself. "He is a normal person, Emi. He's a person just like anyone else."

Well, maybe not just like anyone else. But it's easier to say that than to try to explain him. Even I don't really understand him, and I'm not sure if I want to anymore.

"That's really strange," she says, shaking her head. "It'll take some adjusting."

I shrug, turning my attention to Pyra, Axel and Liseth, who have fallen into a conversation of their own. It's almost funny to watch, when I'm paying attention; Pyra will make a comment to which Axel replies almost immediately, and then Liseth will try to say something as well. Most of the time what she says falls flat, although Axel pays attention to her regardless. Every time he laughs at Pyra's comments, though, I see the little flash going through her blue eyes.

Smirking, I reach out and tweak her on the shoulder, making her jump slightly and turn around, rubbing her shoulder and sticking out her tongue.

"What?" she hisses at me.

"You know she's his cousin, right?" I ask, still smirking.

"Yeah, so?" Liseth replies sourly.

"So there's no reason to be jealous, stupid," I say, laughing. "I really don't see Axel as the 'marry-my-cousin' type."

"Gross!" Liseth exclaims in a whisper, seeming mortified. "I'm not jealous! That's disgusting." She sticks her tongue out at me.

I snicker at her. "Then stop trying to kill my best friend with your mental daggers, please and thank you." I decide to conveniently leave out the mental daggers of jealousy I almost killed her with when she hugged Saïx earlier. No need to go into things too complicated to explain. At least Liseth and Axel's emotions are simpler than mine.

She rolls her eyes at me and turns back to the conversation just as Saïx returns from across the clearing. Turning my head slightly, I see the last members of Zane's party vanishing into their Corridors. The evacuation has begun.

"We should wait until they're back before we leave," Axel says, noticing Saïx's return. "Since we need to go to the Diviners' Complex first."

"Why wait?" Emi asks. "All we have to do is get our clothes. We don't even have to interact with anyone else."

Axel puts a finger to his chin, thinking. "True," he allows. Then he shrugs. "Sai, it's your call."

"We will go," Saïx says, after a pause. "The more quickly we can accomplish our objective, the better."

Axel nods, obviously in agreement. "Let's do it, then." He stands up, and we follow his lead.

I expect him to summon a Corridor, but he just stands there for a long moment, looking confused, before he palms his forehead slowly.

"I've… never been to the Diviners' Quarter," he says.

"I have," Liseth says quietly. "After our Rite. I walked to the gate with my sister."

"You'll have to do the Corridor, then," Axel says. "D'you know how to—"

Before he's even said a word, the violet swirls are burgeoning around my sister's feet, the shadowy doorway forming in the air as her eyes flash with concentration and energy.

"I… guess so," Axel says, laughing. "Well done."

We file through the Corridor one by one, Axel taking up the rear. I shiver as my body slides into the cold darkness, but I remind myself that it's for a good cause, and it allows me at least to continue moving, the dark passage walls passing by around me as I walk along.