Rain poured down by the gallons, pelting the wood shingles of the castle roofs on a cold winter evening. Inside, the comfort of the blazing fires of the hearths warm the citadel that has stood the test of time and man. Nearly a year after the bloody war between the Kingdom of Highland, and the city-state of Jowston, a shadow figure sits at a large oaken desk, figuring and writing on sheets of lined paper. The light from the fire sparkles off of his chocolate brown hair as his chin bobs with sleep. By the time his brown eyes close, his head already lies on the desk, buried in paperwork.

I wish I could talk to Jowy.

"Riou....Riou, are you here?", a lively voice rang through the small opening in the bedroom door, as another set of eyes shine brightly through. "Not again! That boy works too hard!!", the girl fumed, as she crept slowly and silently into his room, with a drab wool blanket wrapped up in her arm. She stood over him and lookd upon his seemingly frail body, and shook her head sheepishly. She unfolded the blanket, and she threw the large cloth over his shoulders. Smiling like she always does, and feeling strangely cheerful, even for her, she embraced him loosely.

"G'night.", she spoke softly, almost in his ear. Standing back up, Nanami streched out, for she was also tired, and made her merry way back to the noisy doorway of the large bedroom.

"N-Nanami...is that you", groaned the half-asleep leader of the country, as the girl started to turn around to leave.

"Oh Riou! Did I wake you?", Nanami turned around, startled.

He stood from his large desk chair, groggly and eyes heavily laden with sleep. "No...", he said before he grinned, and fell into his 'sister's' arms. She laughed, and grinned, "You little...", as she laughed again as picked him up by his arms. Nanami, a very well trained student in martial arts; that of their late granfather, Genkaku; was also very strong, though her body appeared young and girlish, and had lifted the possibly fragile boy up with ease, spinning him around like a pillow. She tossed him over in the direction of a large canopy style bed, where he flopped near the edge of the bed, only to barely roll back onto it.

Good night.

Riou's Room. The Next Morning.

A loud thunking noise echoed up the large stone stairwell, the sound of someone skipping their merry way along the oaken spiral stairs. The ear aching racket was followed followed by a familiar smell, one not too pleasent at that!. The noise grew louder and more constant, Riou twitched in bed trying to pull a pillow over his head, as each step echoed through his room.

"Riiiiouu!", came the same cheerful voice from before calling through the poorly constructed door, before it was nearly kicked down with a large bang.

"Hmm...?", the young boy grunted like a beast under the covers drawing the blankets farther over his face. Taking no proper manners in privacy or common decency, the spirited young girl made her way in the room, setting a platter of something that looks unknown to mankind on the large, round table in the middle of the room. Looking back over to the bed, wanting to wake him up the hard way, although there was no bucket, nor any water. She turned to the bed shaking her head in sarcasm, and she takes a pace or two backwards, only to sprint foward and pounce at the monster of the bed like a cat.

"Eek!", she screamd, trying to hold laughter back, since Riou had known what she was up to; and that loud fiasco of coming up the stairs had woken him from his small slumber. He had sat up before she had even reached the side posts of the canopy, and she had been caught mid-air and immediately tickled. His big, brown eyes looked down at her, and he gives a big grin.

"Morning Nanami!". He sniffed the air. "Something smells really good!" She loved to hear those words. No one but him ever compliments her food, if it could even be called food. Chef Hai-Yo or even Antonio had no result on trying to teach the poor girl how to properly prepare something remotely edible. But Riou put up with it for another reason, one she did not know in her mind, and that made her feel happy.

"I made your favorite", she couldn't help but latch her strong, yet slim arms around his neck, and squeezing tightly, effectivly cutting off air supply. "Anyway...let's eat." Riou gagged for a while until his eyes felt like they would pop. She let him go and motioned him to start eating.

"You need to eat more, Riou. Or else your big sister will always be stronger than you!"

As they ate, whatever it was, Riou cast his large, sparkling eyes upon Nanami. Although they referred themselves as siblings, they were not related in any sort of way, save the fact they both had lived with Genkaku, whom they called their grandfather. He couldn't help but admire her, his 'Big Sister' had always been stronger than him, almost never afraid to express how she feels. Riou had gotten all the attention, but he gladly shifted most of, if not all of their combined efforts' fame to her.

You can't come. It's dangerous!!

He longed to be in the least way as she was.But sisterly love and another love are on a fine line, and Riou is stuck standing on one foot. There was a time though, were she could not take the war of a year ago any longer. Though that's another, long story, she had been wounded by a crossbow bolt, carefully aimed to assassinate her brother and best friend. She decided to use her body as a shield, and from there, deceptivly acted out her death. It was there, though a facade, that Riou finally noticed what his older sister really meant.

...Big Sister...

"Nanami, there's something I've wanted to say...", he suddenly spoke out, which startled Nanami, almosts making her choke on her fork.

"Hmm?" she said, wanting to smack him upside his head, just as usual, but something in his tone of voice, something that seemed shadowed and desperate kept her from hitting him and had made her listen.

"It's just..I..", he spoke, trying to force the words out, just like how she could let them flow, before he was interupted by a tall man dressed in a green vest, with his coal black, smooth hair tied back, with strands hanging over his shining glasses. He promptly bowed, at the door, as he removed his shoes for politeness. This odd, yet humble stranger brought a closed fist hurriedly to the door, knocking twice.

"Um...Sir? May I enter? I carry very urgent news from Lord Shu", he spoke with a ceritan ring of shrill politeness in his voice.

"Yes. Freed, come in" replied Riou. He had obeyed Lord Riou's orders and promptly stepped into the bedroom, not daring to move from the oddly placed "Welcome" floor mat. The man named Freed bowed quickly and held there.

"Sir, Lord Shu requests you immediately. The president of Toran is here!!"

Riou and Nanami looked to each other quickly, and at the same instant, the both sat back down to finish the warm, if tacky meal that Nanami so kindly prepared. They both stood, and bowed at the table, since Freed had already rushed back to his duties, the young ones immediately bolted off to the stairway.

I guess I'll say it later.

The Conference Room, Noon.

"Yes...I'm sure he'll be here soon", a man in with ebony hair flowing down the sides of his rather long face, as he scratched his chin, blinking. He held an aura of considerable knowledge. The man had been standing in a large room, with a large platform for speakers to dictate confrences from. Shields and emroidered insignias on tassled banners, symbolizing the annexation of the new country. Riou, and his sister, Nanami, had just stepped through the large, glass double hung doors.

"Ah...President Riou...President McDohl is here on business."

The rather tall figure, slightly resembling Riou for a moment, turned around, his large green bandanna flailing around as he spun. His figure and apparel imply that he's more of the warrior type, with the same eyes as Riou. Eyes that people can look in and see hope, and a future. But since times have have past since he has had to lead an army, his eyes have dulled, and he has become more of a leader of a country. This had been the fabled Hero of the Toran. The one who could stop an army with his will alone. The one who shattered an empire and forged a new one from the pieces with his breath; President Tir McDohl.

"I've returned from the Holy Lands of Harmonia. It seems as though they wish to make peace with both Republics." he stated, nodding his head in accomplishment. "After the fall of Highland, it appears they do not wish to have both Toran and your cournty breathing down their necks." Nanami peered at the president of the Toran with her large, glassy eyes with a girlish glow. Her jaw desperatly wanted to fall to her knees as she let out a squeal. She had paid absolutley no attention to any of that babble and political jargon. None of that mattered once she set her eyes on that squeezeable McDohl.

She found herself saying, "Aaannd who IS this cutie?!", which turned everyone from Leona, the bartendress; to Flik, the only seemingly intellegent swordsman. Tugging on her arm with a very embarassed expression, was Riou. "What ARE you saying?! That's the president of Toran!!" Nanami had also ignored that, and batted Riou out of the way, and instantly latched onto McDohl's arm. Everyone present at the confrence facefaulted to the floor and lie there twitching.

Nanami tugged on McDohl's arm and pulled him from the great room, "Coooomee oonn you! I gotta show you around the castle!!!..Ooooooh COME ON!!". McDohl, who really wanted to be polite, only stuttered "B-but I-I...oh..", and was reluctantly pulled away. She pulled him from the room, and to the T shaped section of the main halls, looking back and forth. "Ohhh you gotta see this place, and this....OH YEAH!! this is pretty!", and a faint snicker could be heard around the castle, "...just like me!!!", she added before her voice faded away.

You were always there...Why not now?

Everyone in the Great Hall regained composure, and had stood back up brushing themselves off. Flick muttered, "What was that all about..?". Shu looked into Flik's direction and shrugged, showing that the brilliant man was for once, confused.

Viktor, the bear-like man with overly-messy pitch black hair, who always seems to be partnered with Flik, laughed a great rolling laugher due to his enormous size, called out, "Nature's callin'. That's what, Flik!"

Who cares about nature? You do...

Leona's Tavern. Half past Noon.

Riou sat at a table in the corner, the back seat and surrounding the table in the other seats were a few people that he knew quite well. Viktor sat across from him and already had a pitcher of beer to his lips, quaffing down the porter; while Koyu raised from his seat and started roaming around. Rina had sat next to him, and was quietly conversing with the young leader. He had been talking about his day, how it started as such a beautiful morning and had spiraled down into another day at the tavern. Yes, to him it was all his fault. McDohl's fault. It's not like he couldn't have come at another day, it had to be this day, the day when he was finally going to open his mouth.

Riou had slammed his fist on the table, and quickly pulled it back in embarassment, which was soon lost. He didn't want to feel like this, since he dosn't even know what it was. But 'jealousy' was written all over his face, and the others couldn't tell why. Rina was the exception. Fortune telling was her game, and she knew love like she knew her cards. The question is, will she stay silent?

"What the hell does she see in him!? Just because he some kind of President!", he spoke rashly, and that tipped off Rina to speak, and laughed at the boy, for he was also his own country's President. He looked at her quite annoyed, and she mearly closed her eyes with that smile that meant something that she knew something and shook her head.

"Are you forgetting? You're in charge here. You're our President.", she chuckled once again, secretly hoping poor Eilie wouldn't appear and overhear this conversation as she was quite adept at following poor Riou around; for Eilie had secretly hoped for a chance of being together with Riou. Rina knew this, and didn't want to 'betray' her sister like this, but it was for her own good.

"Why don't you just tell her?" she inquired. He hadn't taken notice to what she was assuming. She knew that he wanted to be more than just sibling to Nanami, but what would others think? Thinking quickly and for but a moment, as an avid tarot card mistress, she's quick on the thought, "Trust me...just tell her, then she'll know."

He sternly looked at her suspiciously, pondering heavily on her last remark, and looking back down at the table, trying to take his mind off everything and think straight. Obviously he lied to her, and she had saw right through it and looked into his eyes with her coal-black pair, he replied after a long silence, "Tell her...what?"

Don't I already?...or..maybe...