Kiisan awoke during the night, clutching his right hand in pain. "I feel like I'm being eaten away from the inside..." he thought, "Is it the rune?"

He rubbed his eyes with his left hand, trying to make his vision less blurry. He glanced at the intricate circle design on his right palm. It was glowing, but not as brightly as when he first found it. A cold breeze blew through the tent causing him to shiver. He glanced towards Han Li and Carlos who were both sleeping peacefully. "What should I do?"

Kiisan dug through his pack and found his jacket, which he pulled on over the white robe he had been sleeping in. He crept out of the tent and stood barefoot in the grass, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to calm himself down.

"Okay...okay...a True Rune has a will of it's own, right? Right! ...but it chose me so it won't try to hurt me, right? Right. I mean...Han Li would've warned me about this thing a little more if he thought it would give me trouble. I am my own master, right? ...right? ...I don't know," the teenager thought to himself, gradually growing more unsure of his standings with the Circle Rune.

Going back into the tent, waking Han Li up, and asking for reassurance sounded like a very good action at the moment, but Kiisan restrained himself. What would Han Li think of him if he had to ask for help all the time like a little kid? He didn't want to look utterly hopeless.

"It's probably just the stress getting to me," Kiisan told himself, "That's it...the stress."

He stuck his hands deep into the pockets in his reddish-brown jacket and strolled back into the tent, "I can deal with this...yes...I can definitely deal with this...I'll ask about it in the morning..."

He sat back down and began to wrap himself up in his blanket.

"I can't do this."

Kiisan stepped cautiously about Father Carlos and knelt down beside Han Li who murmured a few unintelligible words in his sleep. He shook his friend gently, "Please wake up...I..."

The dark-haired man blinked awake and turned to look up at his young companion, "Kiisan...what is it?"

"I can't sleep."

Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni

"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"

Chapter 22- First Day's Maneuvers in Giku

The following day the revolutionaries passed through a more densely inhabited area, and found themselves being watched by the locals. Men in a tomato field looked up from their work to wave at the rebels, calling out, "Good luck!" and other wishes of good fortune for Kiisan and his companions. Falina waved back at the farmers cheerfully reminded unconsciously of her own father.

Carlos shaded his eyes as he looked towards the horizon, "I think we're coming close to some of the larger cities in the area. I hope everyone's okay with re-entering civilization."

Rizu chuckled softly, "Maybe I'll get to sleep in an actual bed again!"

Sonoa also took up the topic, giving Russ a noticeable nudge; "Maybe I won't haf to eat your cooking for a while!"

He shoved her away playfully, "Cut it out! You know you'd rather eat my cooking than some cheap tavern fare!"

Mio, who was fanning himself lightly with the map, looked to Han Li; "Will this interfere with your plans at all? How long until we break from the High Road?"

The serious man did not answer at first, but after he realized the orange-haired strategist was speaking to him he turned quickly, "No! ...It's just fine. Just please ask everyone to keep quiet about where we're headed. I don't want the Imperial Army finding out just yet... We'll leave the High Road after we pass through Geshi. It's alright. Leave it all to me."

The road began to widen as the rebels approached the city of Giku. Merchants passed them, leading carts filled with unusual merchandise. Farmers and their families hurried into the city, anxious to see what the new day had brought to the capital of the state of Onwya.

"Almost as many merchants and travelers as in Crystal Valley..." Junsuke remarked watching a farmer struggle to put a large, white chicken into a cage.

"Crystal Valley is at least four times the size of Giku," Mio corrected, "And it's growing at a faster rate than the Holy Capital of Rupanda since it's easy to find jobs there. Giku is just a stop for merchants between Crystal Valley and Riverway."

Junsuke rolled his eyes, but with his face turned so Mio could not see his annoyance, "I just like the variety of people here. It wasn't a comparison of size."

Rizu patted his friend on the back, "Come on Jun, let's go find something interesting. I'm sure we'll have more fun here than Mr. Strategist over there."

The darkly clad man felt somewhat better after receiving Rizu's support and decided to forget about Mio.

**************

Kiisan, after consulting Han Li, Mio, and Louis Abdul, decided it was better for the revolutionaries to simply split up and blend into the city as they passed through. That way they would receive less attention than before.

"Make sure everyone knows that we're camping together though. I think we should be at least ten miles south of the city..." Louis Abdul said sternly, "If someone unimportant gets lost in Giku I don't want to have to waste time looking for them. I'm going to take all the soldiers with me who came from Serif and we'll follow the outskirts of the city and find a good place to set up camp. It'll just look like something from the State Army...and we are military allies of Onwya."

The longhaired man quickly and efficiently directed his troops southwest along the city's edge, taking Russ and Lucien with him. Hai-Yong refused to be separated from Falina and after much loud protesting his self-appointed guards gave in.

Jirobane and Ocha struck off on their own to take in the sights and glean any possible information about their respective searches. "They're quite a pair," noted Hyoko. Kiisan restrained his laughter until the swordsman and sorceress were out of hearing range. Hyoko, Hittoko, and Father Carlos led the volunteers from Crona through the market place, promising Kiisan to keep an eye open for any unusual information.

After their departure Mio stepped forward, and while Mio explained to Kiisan that he wished to speak with the Mayor of Onwya Han Li snuck off into the city on his own, wishing to keep his clandestine plans to himself.

Kiisan saw off Mio, Rizu, Junsuke, and Haneh, who headed directly towards the Giku City Counsel Building. As he glanced around he realized that not everyone had decided to stay put until he could give them permission to go. Sonoa and Mai Mai were missing, as were Kusa and Kurin, and Han Li. Kiisan was slightly relieved to see Mai Mai had disappeared for the moment, but he was fairly sure that both she and her master would return promptly for dinner in the evening, despite Sonoa's complaints about Russ' cooking. Kusa and Kurin were also almost certain to return since Kiisan's revolutionary force was currently their ticket to free food and plunder.

However, Han Li's departure left the young priest slightly worried. Although Han Li had said he would lead them to the ruins he had suggested as a strategic location the mysterious man had been especially quiet and withdrawn the past few days. And Sassha's vague analysis of the older man's mood had done little to quell Kiisan's fears. He needed Han Li's calm presence...he needed his wisdom...he needed to be able to trust his friend.

"Sassha, did you see Han Li go somewhere?"

The small boy took his hand away from his loose tooth he had been busy wiggling to respond, "Nope. He was getting really tense about being here and was saying something to himself about "witch hunting" and then he headed off a ways. When I looked up again he was gone."

Falina looked at Kiisan inquiringly, "What did he mean about 'witch hunting?'"

Kiisan shrugged helplessly, "I don't know."

Hai-Yong casually flipped a wavy piece of hair out of his face, "He meant the studies they do about magic here."

Both Kiisan and Falina turned to face him quickly. "What?" asked Kiisan.

"Mayor Miranda thinks that if they study magic they can think of a way to develop some sort of super-weapon or something. That's why there aren't many Imperial troops in Giku. Chancellor Tion himself told General T'Rumour not to waste troops here even though Onwya is technically allied with Serif. I guess he must be even more paranoid about being noticed than I thought"

Kiisan felt himself beginning to be more interested in their Imperial prisoner, "Thank you Mr. Pavlen. That's some useful information."

The red-haired man grinned and placed a large hand on Falina's shoulder, "Aww 'twas nothin' Father. I told Miss Falina I'd prove myself useful yet."

"But...aren't you being a traitor by telling Kiisan all this stuff? Aren't you worried about what your superiors will do to you if they find out?" she asked him with concern.

"Nah, I don't care," he smiled, "I have nothing to go back to. Didn't I tell you before? ...Besides," he mumbled, his face turning a rather awkward shade of beet red, "I have to look out for you."

Falina beamed, giving him a soft friendly smile, "That's very nice of you Mr. Hai-Yong."

The tall, muscular man turned away and shook his head.

"Sassha, I don't want Sir Yuber causing more of a scene than he's already making just by being here...do you want to walk through the fields with him? I know that you two get along really well, and it would be a big help..."

Sasshalai nodded and hurried over to the blond man who was busy standing by the side of the road grinning ominously at some small children who were caught in a mixture of fear and curiosity. "Mr. Yuber, let's go."

Falina shook her head in amazement, "The way Sir Yuber listens to little Sassha is like...I don't know what it's like, but it always surprises me..."

Hai-Yong, regaining some of his usual energy laughed, "I don't care what it's like as long as I'm not forced to keep an eye on that creepy guy!"

Kiisan ignored Hai-Yong's jest and took one last look around to make sure everyone had been taken care of and that Han Li had not returned before turning back to Falina and his "prisoner."

"I guess it's just the three of us...shall we go?"