Sorry for the exceptionally long time it took for me to update. I've been in Basic Combat Training over the summer, so yeah. That slowed me down severely. Anyway, I'm going to work hard on actually finishing something I started and I honestly hope you enjoy this story. *(Note: Nanami has a nickname for Annallee "Allee" pronounced 'ah-LEE'. Cute, no? And, Try not to confuse a new character with Riou. Not to spoil anything though. And yes, cigarettes DO exist in Suikoden II. Just look at Richmond for proof.)
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Tetsu's Health Spa.

As the masses of spectators gathered around the broken figures, a tight circle formed that nearly blocked out all of the outside world from getting in. This included our Hero, and the good doctor.

"Where the hell is Nanami?!", Riou nearly screamed. He attempted clawing through the onlookers, shoving them aside. It was no good. The people were too packed. Young Riou rushed from end to end, trying to find an entrance to the pool of scarlet in which lie two angels, nearly tearing his hair out in the process.

Click. Snap. BLAM!!

A loud and thunderous explosion, followed by billowing plumes of smoke ruptured from a goddess statue from the near end of the spa entrance. The crowd, horrified by the sudden and apparent attack of some sort, fled in any direction possible. Except for a few unshaken souls.

"The Hell...?", muttered Riou to himself. He hadn't noticed a flowing black cloth of some sort, and wisps of gold hair peeking from aside the statue. Doctor Huan had noticed. A measly janitor hiding, the doctor considered.

"But...that broom looks a lot like a 'gun'" he thought. The noise had calmed after the young leader and doctor passed the woven straw threshold of the ,hot springs that had been conveniently converted into a spa.

"Yup........Always works." the slightly scratchy silhouette said before disappearing back in the stairwell.

Medical Clinic, Main Office.

A tall, slender feminine figure lies under a thick, linen blanket; her angelic body never shaping a wrinkle in the fabric. Bright sunlight washed the room in a warm yellow glow that morning as the sun began to rise from its slumber. As the light inched it's way across the floor and onto the bed, the morning sun filled in around the shadows of the silhouette, finally meeting its long journey to her face. Brown hair, almost shifting from light to dark showered down to her eyes, shimmering in the sunlight as the small draft of the room gently flowed through each strand. Her deep brown eyes lie sleepily under closed eyelids. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead, it's pure white color covering her hair, matting it against her head. More bandages and the like were spotted along her body.

The frail, battered body twitched and suddenly, as if attacked, she sprang up into a sitting position and started to breath heavily.

"...Where...am I?", she asked aloud in a raspy, almost forced voice; even though no one was in the room. She reached up to touch the bandage on her forehead, only to wince in pain from the mistake.

Suddenly, she grasped the blankets and hunched over like an attack of some sort occurred. Her head swayed from left to right as her eyes darted to scan the unfamiliar room. The empty chairs, the closed door all so quiet; she finally let out a small, scratchy squeal as she clutched the blanket tighter.

"N..naaa...", she started but unable to continue due to a swollen throat. Lying back down, the young woman drew in a deep breath and sighed. As her eyes closed once again, she didn't notice the sound of footsteps echoing softly down the hall, each step growing louder as it was placed. A soft voice trailed the footsteps, and suddenly stopped. This had caught her attention and she turned to face the wooden door. In an instant the door slammed open to reveal another tall, slender female figure. One appearing to be carrying a tray.

The figure in the bed did nothing but sit and stare as her eyes grew wide, and her mouth open, with no sound or voice daring to escape. The sunlight radiating from the window blazed in on the newcomer, its now light yellow glow shining on her body, making it almost impossible to see who she was due to the light's intensity. It could have been, in fact, an angel.

"Nanami!", the confused and battered girl in bed shouted, despite the pain and hoarseness it caused. Nanami said nothing in return, but slowly made her way to the bed with the tray. Her eyes were closed and she had a very serious look on her face. As she stood next to the bed, she set the tray neatly down across the lap of the one lying, almost as if it were a routine thing. Finally, Nanami opened her eyes slowly, and with a deep look on her face.

"Morning Allee-chan! Here's breakfast!" she said, suddenly changing moods from serious to cheerful almost instantly. It was almost a joke. "It's on me so don't worry about the tip!" She laughed a little. The eccentric Nanami's face was all smile. Unlike her counterpart, Annallee wasn't smiling. She really did nothing but stare down at the tray. Her cheeks were flush, and she dared not to look up at her savior.

Food. Prepared to near perfection. Quite a feat for Miss Chef herself, actually, as she had to fight off the many doctors to exit the clinic, and even brave the relentless wok of HaiYo to prepare this breakfast for the bruised young lady.

"You made...me...breakfast?" Annallee asked, looking up to her heroine, her cheeks still flushed. Nanami posed and nodded triumphantly.

"Uh huh! Now eat up. Doctor Huan says you need to eat this weird food called a 'protein' or something.", she replied with the usual ring of bounciness.

So the two stayed in the room for quite some time. Nanami was lying on the chair, half asleep. Annallee was still sitting in the bed, eating, never looking up to avoid exposing her bright cherry red cheeks. She had wondered if she was still dreaming, or if this was all real. Or maybe...

Cave of the Wind.

The legendary Cave of the Wind was formed thousands of years ago, during the time of the Creation. Legend has it that a Spark created from the Great Battle between the Sword and Shield fell to earth, but did not leave a crater. Instead it punctured a hole in the ground, and followed its own path deep underground. Thousands have explored these caves, and none have found anything proving this myth. But where did all that wind come from?

A large mark had been drawn on the cave wall. It glowed intensely for a moment and then disappeared, as if absorbed by the very stone itself.

"Damn...it's not here either.", shouted a tall, rather thin cloaked man. He was completely shrouded in the darkness, with his cloak and hood almost part of the pitch blackness itself. There had been a group of these black cloaked figures gathered around the cave, but only these two men had entered. One was apparently tall, and thin, and the other was a little shorter and a lot more muscular.

"Can it you knuckle head! Just keep looking. It's bound to be here somewhere..", the larger figure shouted back.

"I say we just nix this whole place with one shot...", sighed the taller of the two, as he raised his right arm, and a strange and intricate Rune started to glow fiercely. This action startled his partner, yet it also was expected from him.

"You gotta be kiddin' me! You're nuts Rion!"

"Ehh....hm." The one known as Rion (*Not to be confused with Riou), who was the taller of the two, pulled from the inside of his cloak a cigarette, all bent an crimped and placed it loosely between his lips and sat there for a moment.

"Well...where the hell can it be then?" he said aloud, the cigarette bouncing lightly.

"Well...why am I always the one who has to supply the answers around here?"

"Well...you're one of those fabled 'Samurai', aren't you Johji?"

Johji was the name of the larger of the two. He happened to carry a weapon of some sort under that cloak, but it was well concealed.

"Oh quiet you! My family had a long history and furthermore Samurai are NOT fabled!"

"Blah blah blah...." yawned Rion.

Immediately following the young Rion's remark, Johji tackled him. He didn't take insults very well, even for a samurai. The two rolled down a slope in the dark cave, and ended up falling into an underground lake. The clothing they were wearing was made from a very durable material, able to withstand low amounts of magic and attacks. But it absorbed water like a sponge. And they sank.

Medical Clinic, Main Office

"Miss Annallee, you're cleared by the Doctor to leave now, hope you feel better soon." and assistant announced as he bowed in the same white clinic room that Nanami and Annallee were staying in.

"Thank you so much." the humble singer replied, also with a modest bow. Nanami, full of energy was about to burst at the seams until she was able to get her friend out of that stuffy room. She grabbed the poor singer's arm and nearly dragged her out of the clinic and out into some fresh air.

"Nanami...?", Annallee asked nearly out of nowhere. She had a little strain in her voice, as though she was scared nearly to death.

"Hmm?" replied Nanami, realizing that she was tugging too hard, and let loose of Annalee's arm, not letting go completely. Her hand slid from the Allee-chan's forearm down to her hand. Annallee stared as they walked together with their hands locked together.

Nanami stopped for a second and turned to her friend. "What is it Allee-chan?" she inquired.

"Can we...talk? In...like...somewhere private?"

"Um...sure! How does the telescope tower sound?"

"That's fine! Perfect!" she squeaked, almost embarrassingly quick and child like.

The two made their way up the tower, on top of which lie a telescope for recreational use. The Square that day had been quite empty, for everyone had gathered around the Shopping Street. Nanami had suddenly wondered why her best friend would call her to such a private meeting. Perhaps it was about that incident with the store owner. Shrugging it off, the eccentric girl and the young singer stood atop the tower, Nanami leaning over one of the hoardings to catch the beautiful breeze that loomed over the area.

"Can I tell you something? It's really new to me and I'm oh so very confused..." started Annallee.

"Sure Allee-chan-chan!" replied Nanami, humming a song, with a sort of smile on her face as she looked up at the sky.

"I think I'm in love."

This snapped the attention of Nanami, and in the blink of an eye, she nearly appeared next to the girl like
white on rye.

"With who?!" squealed Nanami, loving to get into conversations like this.

"Someone..." she sighed.

"Aww...well, did you tell that lucky person yet?"

"I just...don't know if...I can..." Her eyes started to well up with tears. She was obviously having difficulty with this, and she truly did not know how to express herself. "I don't know when the time would be right..."

Nanami suddenly lost a little of her cheer, but still had a warm smile on her face as she gave her friend a tight hug. She gently brushed the tears away from Annallee's eyes, and looked right at her.

"Any time is right if you mean it! So let's go tell this crush of yours! I'm sure they'll understand."

This had made the poor girl tear up even more. Those words were what she needed just to summon up what little courage she had. With her lip quivering, and body shaking almost out of control she prepared for what she had always wanted.

"Nanami...?" she said, looking to her heroine, not shaking or quivering or a look of fear on her face.

"Hmm, Allee-chan?"

"It's you...It's you...You're the one." she let out. Nanami, caught in the middle of the sentence, gasped as her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what Allee had just said. In less than a moment, Nanami opened her mouth to say something, but it was all too late. Her mouth was again caught by another's lips, and silenced before anything could be said.

The two stood there for what seemed to be an eternity on the tower that day. That could have lasted moments. Or hours.

Nanami didn't break away from the embrace.