Crossed Paths

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the characters here except the unimportant Lola. Namco owns
the cool and important ones…

CHAPTER FIVE


Seung Mi Na woke up to the sound of soft music. At first, she panicked, almost forgetting where she
was; but after gazing out of the window and spotting the beautiful canals and buildings of Venice, she
breathed out in relief, remembering her surroundings. After washing up and preening herself, she
dressed and then followed the tunes to the first deck of the lodge.

In the main room, two of the four male mercenaries were seated, one of them playing what appeared
to be an ocarina and the other listening intently. An aproned Lola was nearby, sweeping the hardwood
floors with a corn broom, humming softly, and pretty much looking like she was enjoying herself. It
made Mi Na's stomach churn with aggravation to realize that even though Lola was one of the
Council's hired mercenaries, she was still required to cook and clean because she was female; it made
her even more infuriated to know that Lola took pleasure in it. Oppression. How Mi Na hated it.

"Oh, good morning, Miss Mi Na!" Lola greeted her. "Breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. It's
oatmeal and still rather warm."

"Thank you," Mi Na politely said. She glanced about, noting that the only two people she somewhat
knew where missing. "Where are Siegfried and Kilik?"

"They went out early this morning to spar and get firewood. They should be back soon."

And they went without me? Mi Na then excused herself and headed into the kitchen for her breakfast.
Several minutes after the Korean girl had adjusted to the taste of the oatmeal, Lola had snuck into the
kitchen, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. She slipped into the chair opposite Mi Na's.

"So," she said.

"'So'?" Mi Na blinked at Lola who appeared to expect a revelation or something of the sort.

"How did you get to meet Siegfried?"

"Oh," Mi Na dropped the spoon into the lumpy, cream colored oatmeal. "I met him three years ago in
Germany." She didn't delve into details with the redhead as to why she was in Germany at the age of
sixteen.

"Did you two….?"

"No!" Mi Na nearly shouted. "Er," she flushed and calmed herself, replying to the Italian woman with a
softer tone of voice, "no. We weren't like that. At all."

"Oh. Hm," Lola leaned back in the creaky chair, folding her hands behind her head. How unlady like.
"Was he the same as he is now three years ago? I mean, I've only known him for about a few months
since he came here looking for a way to earn money to travel East, and he's been the same the entire
time: distant and serious. And he looks so pensive and troubled sometimes…"

One of Mi Na's eyebrows arched. She remembered Siegfried as being exactly how Lola had described
him to be. Only now, he was more mature than the impetuous and confident boy she had last seen
him as. He was a lot more quiet, too. "Um, he's always been that way," she replied, taking to swirling
her spoon in the oatmeal. "I don't know exactly why. It's probably something he wants no one to
know of."

"You may be right. But it'd be nice to know what is troubling him so I can help him, y'know?"

"I understand." Mi Na nodded.

"And what about you and Kilik?"

Mi Na's eyeballs almost leaped out of their sockets. "What do you mean 'what about me and Kilik'? I
barely know him," she protested softly, trying to overlook Lola's presumptions about a relationship
between herself and Kilik. "We're not involved."

"Oh?" Lola grinned. "Hm. That may be so, but he likes you. I can tell."

"Say what?" The concept sounded so surreal, Mi Na almost snickered her cute little heart out.

"I'm serious!" The Italian woman leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and resting her
chin on her palms. "This morning, before he left with Siegfried, he was asking about you and insisted
on inviting you along with them. But Siegfried recommended otherwise."

"Really?"

"Mmhm," Lola said with a nod, her grin never fading. "He's quite a catch, too," she added.

"If you say so." Mi Na shrugged and lowered her eyes to the reflective surface of the spoon resting in
the bowl.

"What? Don't you think he's attractive?"

Luckily, for Mi Na anyway, she didn't get the opportunity to answer such an embarassing inquiry.
Siegfried and Kilik, more than likely sweaty and exhausted from their outdoor labors, made a loud
entrance. Lola sprang to her feet and assumed the role of the prissy girl once more before they could
make it into the kitchen.

Siegfried, donned in a simple white shirt and black pants entered first, wiping the beads of sweat off
his brow with a cloth. He offered the females a nod and a simple greeting. "Lola, the stuff's out front.
Jon and Leo are moving it for you."

And Kilik stepped in after the German, glistening from head to toe with a luster of sweat. His fair skin
had taken a bronze tone after working so hard and shirtless underneath the unforgiving sun. No one
noticed his current physique more than Mi Na who blushed and turned away at the mere sight.

Kilik saw Mi Na and immediately greeted her with a smile. "Good morning Mi Na." She turned to face
him slowly. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her, oblivious to her evident blush, Lola's amused grin, and
Siegfried's furrowed blonde eyebrows.

"Yes…I did."

"That's good. It means you're not tired," Siegfried commented for Kilik. "Mi Na, I need you to do
something for me. Do you think you're up for it?"

Always one to accept a challenge, Mi Na nodded enthusiastically, thrilled with the idea of working
equally amongst men. "Yes!"

"Good," Siegfried cracked a grin. "I need you to go to La Plaza Destenra for these." He handed her a
white sheet of paper.

Mi Na read over the paper. And frowned at the scribbled words across it. It was a list. A grocery list.
She looked at Siegfried, in disbelief. "Sorry about the short notice," he said calmly, just as though she
was perfectly fine with her errand, "but Lola can't make it on her swollen ankle."

"Why do you need these? I thought you were mercenaries. Not a bunch of chefs," Mi Na snapped.

"We need to eat."

Growling under her breath, Mi Na muttered a "fine" to Siegfried. He, in return, muttered a "thank you"
to her and left without another word.

"Um," Kilik began, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that grew after the German's departure.
"I can go with you, if you want," he offered to Mi Na, noticing her look of resentment.

"Why? You don't think I can do this?"

"No. It's not that," Kilik said, "I just want to help."

"Fine…"

He smiled at her and deftly headed into the bathing areas located in the back of the lodge.

Lola, who had been quiet the entire time, mused and grinned at Mi Na. "Like I said: I think he likes
you."




"You look like some housewife," Kilik teased Mi Na's choice of attire, trying to liven the mood on the
way to La Plaza Destenra.

"Did you want to come to help me or make fun of me?" a very unhappy Mi Na grumbled.

"Sorry, just trying to lift your spirits…" But you do look like one. Mi Na was dressed in a long white
spring dress. She would have preferred to wear her own trademarked clothes but Lola mentioned they
were dirty and needed to be washed; she wouldn't have let Mi Na out of the lodge in it, come Hell or
high water. In the meantime, Mi Na had to suffer with dresses that probably belonged to someone's
grandmother.

"Eh, I should be the one apologizing," she murmured as they turned a corner. "I'm just upset."

"Abo~ut?"

"It's like everywhere I go, I'm either treated like a child or a domesticated wife or things along that
line. I can't seem to escape that no matter how many times I try."

"Well, I'm not going to say that you will never escape it—otherwise, I'll be lying. But," Kilik offered, "I
will agree with you when you say it's unfair. It bothers even me to see that women are expected to do
only certain jobs when they are capable of doing the same things as us males."

Mi Na glanced at Kilik walking beside her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his outlandish burgundy
pants, innocently looking at the denizens and landmarks of the gorgeous city. "You know," she said,
catching his attention after some time of silence, "I've never met anyone quite like you, Kilik. You
seem to understand and treat everyone fairly."

Smirking at that subtle compliment, Kilik shrugged, modestly. "Guess it was the way I was raised?"

"You were raised well then."

Arriving at the market, Kilik and Mi Na went on a scavenger hunt for the grains, produce, and fresh
fish Siegfried required. As they went around the spacious plaza together, they talked of everything and
anything that came to mind. Kilik even found himself telling her about Xianghua.

"Oh, I remember her," Mi Na muttered as they left La Plaza Destenra with baskets full to the brim in
their hands.

"Yeah," Kilik said with a bit of a chuckle, "she can be quite unforgettable."

"So where is she now?"

"I believe she's in Germany," he replied with a sigh. "She said she had to meet up with some members
of her opera troupe there, but I really think she wanted to get away from me…"

"Why would she want to do that?"

"We had an argument…"

"What did you two argue about? If you don't mind me asking…"

"She's… I don't know," frustrated at trying to find the right words to say, Kilik mussed his hair with a
scratch of his fingers along his scalp. "We had an argument before she left. I think she was upset at
me for defending you during that earrings thing…" [Read Emerald Earrings – ed.]

Mi Na almost stopped in her tracks, flabbergasted and silenced. Months ago, when she and Xianghua
had a rough tete-a-tete, she didn't even know Kilik; the only thing she knew was his name. Yet, he
defended her over his friend? She didn't know exactly how to respond to that. "You defended me?"

Suddenly shy, Kilik didn't answer her, so she prodded on. "Why?"

The young man shrugged, attempting to seem nonchalant about the situation. "She was saying some
pretty mean things and I thought it was unfair that you weren't there to defend yourself."

"Oh…"

Things grew hushed between them for the rest of their walk back to the mercenary 'barracks'.
However, it was broken by Lola, who greeted the two at the door. "Ah, so there you are! I was
beginning to think you two ran off and eloped!" She winked at them.

"What does 'elope' mean?" Kilik asked out loud. Oh, to be so ignorant and innocent…

Lola giggled and helped bring in the baskets. Mi Na, however, didn't find Lola's assinuation very funny,
if at all. She hated the subject of marriage; it brought back memories of home. The home she didn't
want to remember until her journey was over. "Very funny," she said dryly, following the redhead
inside.

Neither of the females made the attempt to answer Kilik's inquiry.




****

A/N: Whoo boy. That took a while to get done. If you were awaiting this chapter, sorry about the
length it took to get uploaded, but I had to move and find a computer and all that transitional mess we
all know and love. ^_^ Please let me know what you think with a review or an e-mail!
(kaldea@tekken.cc) Yeah. I got a new pen name… =P *prays that the format isn't frooked up!*