After a brief discussion of strategy and the current situation Mio convinced Louis Abdul and Kiisan to spend the rest of the night at his house without giving a straightforward answer to the hopes for assistance. The dark-haired soldier feel asleep quickly on the rather worn-in couch that had been offered to him, but Kiisan felt too uncomfortable in Mio's home to fall asleep. He claimed insomnia and sat with the young strategist at a round wooden table. A single candle illuminated the room, casting a warm glow onto the other man's face. The tangerine-haired young man sat in the chair across the table, scratching some notes into a hand-bound book. Kiisan felt spellbound by the skritch-scratch sound of quill on paper and the calmness of the night. He could hear a cricket chirping nearby and wondered if it was enjoying a stroll through Mio's obviously well tended roses. His wandering mind started to slide towards darker, less pleasant images and Kiisan felt as though he was falling. He could feel his heart beat faster and he looked at Mio, who seemed unaware of his companion's panic. The fear-induced paralysis ended as suddenly as it had begun as Kiisan's mind regained its interest in Mio. Something about the man working so diligently in his notebook eased his strained mind. The strategist stopped writing and put down his quill to look over what he had put down. Kiisan put his arms on the table and leaned closer to take a better look at the other man.

Suddenly Mio closed his notebook and looked up. Kiisan pulled back quickly, hoping Mio would not realize he had been staring, but it was too late, "Father Kiisan, why were you looking at me like that?"

Kiisan felt a lack of words to describe what he was thinking, but managed to mumble an explanation, "You looked just like an oil painting..."

Mio put his homemade book down onto the table and gave the rebel leader an odd look, "Really? I've never heard that before. ...I was wondering, so if it's not too much trouble...how old are you?"

"It's kind of funny...no one's asked me that this whole time..." mused Kiisan, curious as to the reason, but choosing to pass over it for the time being, "I'm sixteen. If you don't mind my asking, what about you?"

"I'm nineteen. ...I guess you think it's strange then that I know Louis Abdul...I am a lot younger than him..."

Kiisan could not help laughing a little at the statement, "I didn't know he was older than you! How old is he?"

"He's twenty-eight..." murmured Mio, pausing momentarily in thought before continuing, "...that's the age I thought you were...so much responsibility for someone so young..."

"You're not very old either!" insisted Kiisan; "It's not that much different!"

Mio shook his head slowly; "My family has made military strategy its business for generations... Since I was a little child I've been trained this way... You were never prepared...so I can easily say that you've done a good job so far. ...and you've never had to fight your own family..."

Kiisan moved his chair around closer to Mio's, hoping to see the young strategist's face that was now turned downward, more clearly. "It must be hard to go against your father like that... You're a strong person, Mio."

"...I'm a weak person...without enough confidence in myself...I have to find my strength in other places..." whispered Mio, his voice wavering slightly.

"They say no man can live alone," suggested Kiisan, "Maybe you just need a cause. ...Mio, if you come along with me, I promise that I'll never blame any of it on you, even if your plans fail. You can show your father that you're not only just as good as he is, but better! ...the captain, I mean, Louis Abdul, said such nice things about you when we were on our way here...I know he believes in you too. We can help each other."

Mio raised his head slowly, the candlelight sliding across his delicate features. His eyes shone with tears he had held back half-heartedly. Kiisan awkwardly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it his new friend. Mio smiled pitifully and closed his eyes, allowing the tears to run down his cheeks. He wiped his face with the silky piece of fabric and gazed at Kiisan with a degree of admiration. "Thank you."

Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni

"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"

Chapter 21- Inquiries Unanswered

Returning to the temporary camp the following day, Louis Abdul called everyone together to introduce their new strategist. Han Li seemed skeptical about the new addition to the revolutionary force, harshly telling Sasshalai that if he caught Mio thinking anything questionable that he should be first to hear about it. Sasshalai merely nodded in response to the demand, more interested in holding tightly onto Yuber's large, gloved hand than reading any suspicious minds for a man who seemed to fervently dislike his father.

Kiisan arrived with the young strategist in tow minutes later. Mio felt himself grow faint at the sight of all the curious eyes. He was not surprised that Louis Abdul had declined to describe the force. Outnumbering the people he felt looked useful were women, grave robbers, and a child. "This is going to make or break my career..." he thought to himself before beginning an introduction, "Hello, good morning. My name is Mio de Silverburg and I have been asked to serve as military strategist to this force by Captain Louis Abdul and Father Kiisan. I request that no one question my orders, as I will not send you into anything I have not planned and thought out carefully. Please use your full strength to continue to support the cause. I hope everyone realizes the seriousness of their task. Thank you for your kind welcome."

Louis Abdul jabbed his friend teasingly in the side, "Some speech Mr. Strategist." Mio winced and placed a hand on his side.

*********

Louis Abdul had led the way to Silverburg, but now Han Li took control of the group's navigation. "I'll take you to Slalain. Just let me think on the way," the insisted coldly. The distant man seemed to have fallen into a more pensive mood once again and as they took a less heavily traveled road further south through the state of Onwya he snapped at anyone who tried to make conversation with him. His sudden change of temperament confused Kiisan, who turned to Sasshalai for answers.

"Do you know what's wrong with Han Li?"

"He's thinking about going to Slalain a long time ago," the child replied.

"...Sassha, is he one of the Cyndar?" asked Kiisan, inquiring further about his mentor.

Sasshalai's brow furrowed deeply, "Cyndar? I don't know what you mean."

"...maybe you don't know about them back in Klikk...they're people who used to live here and built a lot of strange things and then left to go somewhere else...does that help? Do you know how old Han Li is?"

The boy put a hand to his mouth, wiggling his loose tooth, "Nah, he's trying to hide his age from me, but I know he's real old...and, so, that's the Cyndar...? We built those."

Kiisan was taken aback by the nonchalant response, "You built those?! Your father? Your people? Sasshalai, is that true?!"

Hair sparkling in the sunlight Sasshalai lifted his head and looked towards the horizon, "Yep. I can't lie to you Big Brother...we built those...but they weren't what we needed so we left them. Everybody traveled for a really long time before they created Klikk and Klikk was right, so they stayed there. That's where I was born."

The young man took off his hat, exposing his head to the warm sun, and laughed, "Sassha, you're one of the Cyndar?! That's impossible!"

Sasshalai looked at his friend seriously, "No it's not, I am what I am."

Kiisan looked into the boy's two-colored eyes, sensing the truth in his words, "I...I trust you Sassha, that's just so weird. ...is Klikk the "Eternal City?" Do you know about the Rune of Change?"

"What's the "Eternal City?" Klikk is home...that's all...you wanna know if it's always on the Highroad, don't you? Well, it's not. It moves. Rune of Change is somewhere...I couldn't say... Runes are a big secret, you know, Big Brother?"

Kiisan dropped his large blue hat on top of Sasshalai's head, "I'm not sure I get it, but I'm okay...maybe it's better not to know... ...that's why you didn't tell me about that True Rune, isn't it?"

The little boy pushed the hat up so he could see from underneath it and peered at Kiisan out of the dark shadow it created, "Yeah, same with Mr. Yuber...secrets, you know?"

Kiisan laughed again, "The heat in all these robes is making me go crazy! I have no idea what you're talking about anymore... Sure, it's all secrets! Please stay with me, Sasshalai, you're going to grow up and be a good person... I'll take care of you, let's stick it out together."

With a broad smile the boy agreed, "You are my big brother, Kiisan!"

********

Captain Hai-Yong was still with the rebel army. Lucien had noticed that the prisoner had stopped complaining and saying he wanted to go home. The older man turned to Russ and rolled his eyes, "Do you think we'll ever get rid of him now?"

Russ adjusted his pack and sighed, "It's not so much of a problem now that he follows Falina around like a puppy...I just wonder if she's going to get sick of him..."

The two men turned their eyes to the cayenne-haired man, who was still marched around with his wrists bound behind his back. His newest trick was walking backwards, just ahead of Falina, Russ, and Lucien. He wasn't as good as he claimed to be either and spent a lot of time stumbling.

However, Falina spent a large amount of her time giggling at his antics, leading Russ to believe that getting the young woman's attention was probably the primary reason for his behavior.

Later in the day, while Falina was chatting with Ocha, Russ pulled Hai-Yong aside to decide what to do. "...I've been thinking...and well, you're always really good for Miss Falina...so I was wondering if you were trustworthy enough not to be trussed up like that...you think that you can be good, at least for her sake?"

The olive-skinned man grinned, "Yes, I'll be good. ...I like that girl a lot..."

Russ pulled out his recently re-sharpened knife and used it to cut Hai-Yong's bonds.

The taller man stretched and rubbed his wrists, "I suppose this is better than my previous job... I get better food...and a better view... and I don't have to wear ten pounds of armor..." As he allowed his phrase to trail off the former Imperial soldier glanced over his shoulder at Falina, "So, um, Mr. Russ, what do you think about her?"

The blond man brushed some hair out of his face as he laughed, "Come on Hai-Yong, we've got to keep walking or we'll get left behind!"

"Really! I'm not joking! What do you think about her?"

"Come on! We've got to keep moving!"

"That's not funny! Answer me!"

"Hurry up, Hai-Yong!"

"...yes sir."