"You are certain that this cause will not fail like so many before it? You can assure me that there is no way that my head will dangle outside the Holy City of Rupanda this very month for aiding you?"

Mio raised his bowed head to meet the bold eyes of the tall woman. Her wavy golden hair flowed over her shoulders like the laburnum blossoms they had left in Serif City. Her gaze was firm. All who said Miranda Shazzel was a lunatic had never spoken with her in person.

"Milady, I owe many things to this state...I would not dare to steer you down a path that I myself would not risk my life on. Please consider my plea on behalf of Father Kiisan."

At the mention of the name of the young revolutionary Miranda raised an arched eyebrow in interest. "You did not say you were a follower of that small saint. I would venture to support that man. They have told me that he wears bells and his face glows with idealism. You shall have the support of all of Onwya."

The orange-haired strategist bowed deeply in gratitude, "Thank you Milady. We are deeply indebted to you."

Miranda merely nodded in response, turning instead to the two armored men seated beside her desk. "Sir Kichitsu, Sir Mekkachi, please come forward and introduce yourselves. I am giving you two charge of Onwya's matters in this revolution. You are to join the revolutionary army as our representatives and I will provide you with what few soldiers and supplies we can spare to support Father Kiisan."

The thinner man, whose wheat colored hair was trimmed neatly at his shoulders arose and threw open his hands at his superior. "Milady, Kichitsu is still recovering from-"

"I know, I know," she responded calmly, "I am not sending the two of you off into battle immediately. I understand that you might worry somewhat for the sake of your comrade, but as long as he does not overdo things, I am sure that he will be fine. Do you have any other points I should address?"

The brown-eyed knight sat back down, appearing slightly defeated. "No, Milady."

His companion, who was looked to be somewhat more muscular, wore his black hair pulled back tightly into a short ponytail. His eyes were blue and narrower than his excitable friend's. Mio observed that the second man, who was obviously Sir Kichitsu, looked pale and lacked Mekkachi's carnation toned flush. "Please forgive him, Milady. I know that you have a limited amount of patience, but Mekkachi often speaks before he thinks. I will be fine."

Regaining her composure partially, Mayor Miranda smiled, "I am glad to hear it. Please take both of your entire units along. Sir Mio informs me that the revolutionaries will be investigating a possible headquarters to the south of here, so we will have quite a buffer between our state and any Imperial attacks coming from Rupanda. You need not worry about the city's safety. Go now, and good luck."

Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni

"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"

Chapter 24- What Could be an Error

Both knights arose from the table and followed a frantically bowing, smiling, and thanking Mio out of the mayor's office. Once outside the door, they took time to investigate the small strategist.

"You're from Silverburg Village, right?"

"Yes...I am," responded the young man.

Mekkachi peered down into Mio's face, "So why aren't you a strategist for the Imperial Army like your famous father?"

Mio scuttled backward to escape the deep look, "I, um...well, you see, we don't have the same political views. We have different ideals..."

"Like what?" Mekkachi began coldly.

"Stop that," Kichitsu reprimanded his friend, "Lady Miranda did not question Sir Mio's views and we have no right to do so either. Our lady ordered us to accompany the revolutionaries, and I, for one, will be proud to fight for freedom from the oppressive regime we live under."

Kichitsu leaned down to come nearer to Mio's height, "I hope this doesn't make you feel awkward Sir Mio, but you're not very tall..."

"I'm five feet six inches," he replied plainly.

"Hmm..." the dark-haired knight smiled, "You're the same height as my mother."

Mekkachi broke into a burst of loud laughter at Kichitsu's observation, "I'm sure that makes him feel really cold Kichi!"

The blue-eyed man stood back up to his full height and grabbed his companion, by the arm, "That's enough out of you. Sir Mio, please excuse this fool and accompany us to the garrison to inform our troops of these new orders."

Mio folded his arms and nodded, "Lead the way, Sir Kichitsu."

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

Kiisan stood barefoot in the stream, holding onto the edge of his robe to keep it from getting wet. The cool water lapped around his ankles and tickled his toes. Tiny fish swam to and fro aimlessly, unperturbed by his presence. The rest of the rebel force that had remained just outside Giku with him was resting in the clearing, awaiting Mio's arrival before making any movements. Sunlight filtered down through the trees, causing the ground below to be speckled with the shadows of leaves and spots of light. A slight breeze rustled through the grove and Kiisan heard the sound of a small twig cracking.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked him.

Kiisan gripped his white robe's hem more tightly, growing alert, "Who's there?"

The green leaves rustled again as a caped man dropped out of a tree. It was Han Li. He landed softly on his feet and stopped to tuck back a loose strand of hair before approaching Kiisan.

"I was right. You have gotten more observant. Your senses are far more alert than they were when I met you. That's the way to do it."

Kiisan stepped onto some erosion-smoothed rocks and out of the stream. "What are you talking about? What did you do that for?"

Han Li knelt down casually by the stream and ran a hand through the water, "I was thought you were becoming more aware of your surroundings and I wanted to test you to see if I was right. ...And I was."

The chestnut-haired revolutionary peered over his companion's shoulder to see what the older man was doing with his hand in the water; "I still don't know what you're talking about. Maybe I'm just getting used to being surprised, so it's becoming routine to be tense."

The mysterious man snapped his hand shut and pulled it out of the water, "It's that rune. It's helping you out a bit for its own good."

Kiisan furrowed his brow thoughtfully, but Han Li's expression lightened and he opened his wet hand. A tiny gray fish flipped around upon his palm. After seeing Kiisan's look of surprise he carefully returning the fish to stream.

"How did you do that?"

Han Li dried his hand on his cloak slowly. "I have excellent reflexes."

"You're a wonder..." marveled the younger man.

Han Li turned his tan face away. Kiisan was unsure of whether he had detected a slight blush crept across his friend's face or if it was only his imagination. "You are most definitely the true wonder."

Suddenly the brown-cloaked man looked back at Kiisan, "I almost forgot to tell you. Mio just got back. There are two men in armor with him...they brought some fairly decent looking soldiers too. We should be able to go now."

Han Li started to head out of the grove, but Kiisan, who was sitting in the grass pulling his boots back on, stopped him. "Sassha told me that recently you were thinking about something that happened to you in the place we're going to...can you tell me about it?"

The black-haired man clenched his teeth, but Kiisan's honest, green-eyed gaze softened his resolve. "I lived there for a little while a very long time ago. I was about your age. Later, that's where I had my date with destiny... This True Rune was passed to me there. I have a lot of memories of that old place..."

Although Han Li did not appear very old Kiisan often had the feeling that his mentor was at least as old as Lucien was, maybe he was ancient. The idea of Han Li as a young man like himself was nearly unimaginable. A large part of his personality seemed to be consisted of his experience and skill in many things. The young priest was unsure of how to respond to the information, "...I never would've guessed..." he whispered.