See DISCLAIMERS and WARNINGS in the first chapter.

Note: I will retain one Japanese suffix in this story, which is 'san'. As for 'sama', I will replace it with 'Lord', 'Lady', or other honorary titles. The reason? I just can't bring myself to write 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.', that's all.

Fields of Feuds

Author: Jusrecht

Chapter Two

The first thing that Kira found himself noticing beside the darkness which engulfed him was the numbing pain on his right arm. On impulse, he lifted his other hand to soothe the sore spot and immediately found an item he did not recognize as his. He was struggling to open his eyes when a gentle voice reached his ears.

"Kira?"

It was Milli's. His heavy eyelids finally yielded to his wish and let him regain a clearer vision. Looking down at him with an anxious look was Milli's face, a smile blooming on her lips once she was convinced that he had truly woken up. Turning her gaze to somewhere above him, she called out, "Tolle! Bring me some water for Kira here!"

The brown-haired boy approached as was told with a cup made of leaves coalesced together, clear water in it. Kira was about to ask how in earth leaves could be made into something like that when Tolle spoke up, "Feeling better, pal? It's already noon you know?"

It was then when Kira finally realized that his surrounding was bright and clear, and the sun was on her way climbing onto the highest throne up in the cloudless blue firmament. Absentmindedly he noted the sound of water trickling somewhere nearby. Taking a quick sip from the cup Tolle had brought, he inquired with a rasp voice, "When did I fall asleep?"

"You didn't!" the other boy was practically hollering in laughter and he noticed that there was a – though subtler – similar expression on Milli's face. "You fainted, Kira! Don't you remember?" The laughter soon enough subsided under Kira's baffled stare and Tolle settled for just an amused look, sometimes still sprinkled by small chuckles. "Last night when we were running into the woods, you suddenly collapsed onto the ground and when we checked, apparently you had passed out. Milli was panicking so we decided to rest for the night." He chuckled again. "It's a good thing that you chose a location near a river to black out."

"Oh," was what Kira had the only decency to articulate for the moment, fingers distractedly fiddling with the coarse surface of the cup. The events from the previous night came back flooding his memory and he looked up, a wince flitting across his face. "So, Master was..."

Milli met his gaze and reached out to squeeze his hand reassuringly. "Yes, but he should be alright. I mean, if the government needs him in some way, they will want him alive, won't they? Master should have been given a better treatment of his illness than we can possibly able to afford."

A long silence met the assumption. Even though Kira agreed to what she had said, he was also worried that his master's stubbornness might lead him to his end. A former royal alchemist. Of course. He had met the man at PLANT when he had been nine, a parentless boy at a rundown orphanage with little confidence but great buried talent at alchemy. When the alchemist had taken him, he remembered he had cried, afraid and lost, but now his master was his closest companion. He saw no reason for the man to tell him what he had been before their first acquaintance, and yet he could not help but to feel somehow excluded from a significant shred of history.

'What do you know about him anyway?' he admonished himself silently, a heavy lump settling on his chest. Vehemently tearing his thoughts from the self-depreciating notion, he forced himself to ask, "Where is Ssigh? And Kuzzey?"

"The two ate your share of fruits I brought back this morning, so I told them to search for more," Tolle handed him the answer with a laid-back fashion. "I have scouted the area. Don't think the guards are pursuing us thanks to the enormous barrier you set up last night."

"I did?" Kira pronounced in growing perplexity, then quickly remembered the magic he had used. "Oh, right, I did."

Tolle rolled his eyes. "Wake up, Kira. We need you sober here."

"By the way," Milli cut in, her eyes carefully observing Kira's, "do you know what was that white light last night? It was like you were emitting the light then vanishing into thin air."

The question to once again ask what she meant was close to slip past his tongue when excited voices rose from the distance. "Hey, Kira! You're awake!"

Two young men emerged from the forest, hands full with fruits some of them Kira failed to recognize – were the blue ones really fruits? – and daggers hung at their sides. Fluttering above them was a spirit of a bird, its pale yellow wings emanating a soft light, almost divine with brushes of green shade on its back and chest. Kira felt his smile widening when the spirit made a dive and arrived on his shoulder, its feathers caressing the side of his cheek. Torii always gave him a sense of peace, much alike the one who gave it to him.

Athrun. The name felt like music on his tongue; melodious, velvety, and soothing. Athrun, always the strong one despite his similarly small build, the brave one – his protector, his only friend, his life. Kira could remember only little of his childhood which had not resolved around the navy-haired boy and when Hibiki-san had come to take him away, Athrun had been the reason why he had spilled so much tears.

But you won't be alone, Athrun had whispered through suppressed tears and it made Kira feel ashamed of his own sobs, because I'm always with you. Then Torii had appeared on his hand and when the spirit had spread its wings, crossing what little gap between them, he had known that his best friend would keep his words. Like always.

"Is this really edible?" he heard Milli inquiring, putting an end to his train of thoughts. Ssigh and Kuzzey had put their load onto an old linen cloth he distinguished as one of the few items in his small journey bag. Milli was squatting next to the cloth, hand fingering a black-colored fruit with noticeable doubt.

"I just took everything I came across," Kuzzey replied brusquely, his face appearing paler than usual. "Just let Tolle take a look at them."

Kira was half-listening to Tolle identifying the fruits – 'these are poisonous, this one has the side effect to fuddle your mind, these are not ripe enough' – as his eyes caught the sweats pouring down a side of Kuzzey's face.

"Are you alright?" Kira asked him apprehensively.

"Just tired," the black-haired boy sighed. "There was a group of scary-looking flying insects chasing us back there in the forest."

"They are called bees, Kuz," Ssigh informed him, almost seeming amused. Then his gaze fell onto Kira's side and he frowned, nodding forward, "What's that on your right arm, Kira?"

Following his blond friend's gaze, Kira noted a slender armlet circling the upper side of his arm, prominent against the old fabric of his clothing. Astonished, he stared at the unfamiliar object – he had never remembered seeing it before – as his other hand reached up, fingering the glossy ring of gold, following its curves and arches until they led him to a single amethyst stone, crowned amidst a relief of swords and blades. When he finally regained his voice back, a short question was what it allowed.

"Where does this come from?"

"You don't know how you got it?" Milli sounded astonished and for some reasons, also ecstatic.

Kira gave her a blank look and watched as she take a closer look at the armlet, a wide grin beginning to invade the remaining space on her face. "I take it you also don't know what the white light you emitted last night was about," she said.

"I emitted?" Kira echoed, an expression of total lost on his countenance.

His friend waved her hand in dismissal. "You were having a cold when Master told me about this. It was sometimes three years ago, I guess. We were nursing you and I insisted to stay awake until you felt better, so he narrated me a story to keep my eyes open." She heaved a deep breath, as if about to disclose her innermost secret before continuing, "Master said that long time ago people were much stronger than we are now, both physically and in magic. A lot of them were able to gain a blessing that allowed them to enhance their ability."

"There were two types of enhancement," she explained. "Powerful warriors could obtain an enhancement called Phidias, which would be able to raise physical aspects like strength or defense for a period of time. Someone who had a Phidias was titled 'Knight'. As for powerful wizards, there was this thing called Rerum. It could raise the power of normal spells or sometimes, enabled its wearer to cast an uncommon spell, depending to each Rerum. These people were referred as 'Mage'."

"Hey, I know that story!" Tolle suddenly exclaimed. "Somewhere when we were kids... yes! That legend was popular among the townsfolk that time! I remembered being trapped in a cupboard listening to old maids blabbering about it for hours!"

"Right, I know I've heard about it somewhere," Ssigh voiced his agreement, a finger thoughtfully brushing his chin. "Remember, Kuzzey? I think it was ten or eleven years ago. A Knight from Panama was leading a company of soldiers to capture a heretic who went into hiding somewhere around here and the town went into a buzz because we had never seen a Knight before.

Next to him, Kuzzey frowned, looking at Milli. "That 'Knight' looked just as ordinary as everyone was. Perhaps it was only a legend, like Tolle said."

"So I thought that time," the brown-haired girl nodded, eyes gleaming in enthusiasm as her gaze flickered back to Kira's new armlet, "but then Master told me that he felt Kira might have that kind of blessing."

The named boy stared at her. "He did?"

"Stop acting like that, Kira," Milli admonished, her forehead drawing into a frown. "If there is someone among the people I know who deserves the blessing, it is you and you know it. Your abilities surpass all of ours combined."

"Sorry," he apologized with a grin. "Just a little overwhelmed, I guess, with that much information coming at me at once. And what you said at the end is not true."

Before Milli could contradict the last statement, Ssigh quickly led the conversation somewhere else. "So, are you saying that this armlet Kira has here is some kind of... what are they again?"

"Phidias and Rerum," Milli automatically filled in. "But judging from the way you vanished last night, Kira, I assume it was your agility it affected. Which means this armlet must be a Phidias."

"Unbelievable," Tolle muttered in awe, then looked up at Kira with a wide grin. "So how do you feel, Sir Knight?"

"If my answer is 'awesome', I know you will hit me," Kira shot back wryly, his fingers once again caressing the delicate carving that embellished his armlet. "Seriously, Tolle, I don't feel any different than usual even if this blessing supposes to enhance my strength or something. I don't even know why it comes to me."

"It's rather hard to believe, I know," Milli admitted with a sigh. "I've never seen anyone with these blessings myself, nor do I know why the number of these blessed people has decreased so drastically. However, Kira, if Master said so, I inclined to believe it too."

A pair of violet eyes gave her a look as the boy mumbled bitterly, "He has never told us he was a royal alchemist."

"Certainly he has his own reasons," Milli responded defensively, an odd expression on her face.

When Kira did not reply and set his attention on Torii instead, she thought she understood the flash of disappointment that even so faintly passed across his face. Although they were not actually a father-and-son related by blood, unlike her, Kira had never had someone to compare with. Where to put the limit, he had no experience of but what his heart told him. All of a sudden she felt a pang of guilt – unexplainable, but it was there, silently leaving a deep trace – that she could not feel what he actually felt.

"From what you said," Ssigh's voice pulled her out of her reverie and she quickly leveled her gaze with him, "I make a conclusion that not everybody has this blessing. Is that right?"

"If what you mean is whether it is possible for you to have the blessing too or not, I can only say that I don't know," she replied in amusement, earning herself a bashful grin from the boy. Silently, she passed a sidelong look at Kira who was conversing quietly with Torii, and resumed with lower tone, "One can only attain a blessing, for example a Phidias, if he has remarkable physical qualities. Likewise, if you have achieved a certain level in magic, Rerum may be attainable. As for Kira, you do know what he is capable of, don't you? It's rather unsurprising for me that he manages to attain a Phidias."

"But you know what, Milli," Tolle suddenly said, his face bright with enthusiasm, "it may be cool if in fact all of us can earn the blessing too. Who knows, right? Maybe you can be a Mage! Your water magic if pretty good, I think."

"I'm not sure about that," Milli said thoughtfully. "Nowadays, most of those who can have the blessings are from the nobility. On the other hand, perhaps it is a good thing that only a few can. Master said, a long time ago chaos ran amok because of these people. Usually, someone earned a blessing if he was trapped in a dire situation or too consumed by a certain strong emotion, and after the threat had passed, not many could regain their old self back."

From the corner of her eyes, she noted that Kira went stiff once she had finished her explanation. However, her attention was caught by Kuzzey who had been sitting all the way wordlessly beside Ssigh with – she had just noticed – a sickeningly pale face. The black-haired boy swayed dangerously backward once and fell with a loud thud.

"Kuzzey!"

Quickly she rushed to the black-haired boy as Ssigh tried to shake him awake, the others hovering around them. Placing her palm on his forehead, she muttered quietly, "He has a fever."

"The bees," Kira figured out, a worried look on his face. "He must have been stung earlier. Can you remove the poison, Milli?"

"I'll try," she answered determinedly and used her magic at once, inwardly reminding herself that his unconscious friend was an earth. A soft bluish glow appeared at the base of her palm, which she was positioning on Kuzzey's neck to begin the curing. At times like this, she was grateful that her element was water, which enabled her to perform healing magic, especially since none of the boys had the particular ability.

For a while, no one uttered anything, all eyes set on Milli's hand. When she eventually removed her hand and looked up, there were anxious lines still on her brow.

"I have removed the poison, but his fever isn't diminishing. We have to find a way to lower his temperature. It's too high to my liking," she bluntly said.

"Cooling it down by water?" Ssigh suggested uncertainly.

"I don't think it's enough," Kira told him, "but it probably can help. By the way, Tolle," he turned to the other boy who had yet to say a word, "we should search for featherfoil. I believe you know that herb?"

A nod from the lighter-brown-haired boy set the two in motion and they began to search for the aforementioned herb at two different directions. The last thing that Kira heard as his footsteps gradually made more distances to their campsite was the voice of Milli giving instruction for Ssigh to fetch more water from the river.

Featherfoil, as he had learned from his master, was a kind of herb frequently used to treat fevers and not too hard to find in general. Most usually, the kind would grow at cool and shady places, such as under the trees. There should be an abundant amount of them in the forest, Kira convinced himself. His eyes scanned the area thoroughly as his feet brought him from one area to another. It was not long until he caught sight of a series of low bushes decorated with sporadic yellow-white flowers clustering imperceptibly at the feet of a tree.

Wasting no time, Kira dashed all the way there and pulled out a small dagger. He was about to reach for the plant when something hit his left hand, leaving a red mark on the skin. Registering that it was a small rock, he quickly cast a wary glance around and almost as immediately, noticed someone standing on the branch of a tree not far from where he stood.

"You don't want to touch it," the stranger said clearly. The voice sounded rough and low, but unquestionably belonged to a girl. Kira stared, wide eyed, dagger clutched tightly on his hand, as she leapt down and began to approach him easily yet carefully.

Now that she was closer, Kira could easily distinguish the fine female lines of her slender body and the stern feature of her visage. Wrapping her body was the mundane green-brown clothing he often saw worn by rangers he had come across with, only not as worn-out. Belted around her waist were a sword, two daggers, and a pouch, while a wooden bow could be seen spying from her back ominously. Clearly she was not an ordinary village girl, but for one reason or another, he could not classify her as a mere ranger either.

"Relax," she smiled slightly, but it was cautious, "I'm not going to harm you as long as you don't intend to harm me."

For a moment, Kira considered the announcement, his awareness of the hilt of his dagger digging into his flesh alerting him. Eventually he lowered the sharp object and murmured slowly, "That depends, doesn't it?"

"That depends," the stranger agreed and from her coiled fist fell another small stone. She studied him for a while, vigilance never leaving her golden eyes, and then asked with a more relaxed tone, "What are you doing here in this side forest?"

'What you were interrupting,' Kira heard his conscience answering inwardly, but promptly put the rude reply aside. Perhaps the Phidias was affecting his mentality more than he had originally assumed. Dismissing the not-so-amusing thought, he concentrated in elaborating his condition with a note to keep their status unrevealed – in case the Alliance Guards had bothered to make them fugitives.

"One of my friends has a fever," he gave her the scarcest details and glanced to the bushes next to his feet. "I'm looking for a sort of herb called featherfoil to treat the fever. I believe this is the one."

"That is not a featherfoil," she answered with a lighter tone. "It looks like one but if you touch it, the highest possibility of what will happen is that its many thorns will wound you and the poison smeared on its stem and leaves will gain a convenient access to get into your blood. To cure you then will be far from easy, trust me."

Kira eyed her dubiously. "It looks just like–"

"I know," she cut in, impatience palpably displayed on her countenance now, "but it isn't. Its name is Toxicodendron. Still, you can always try and see for yourself if you want."

They fell silent for a moment as Kira stared at the plant she claimed as poisonous, wondering if he was indeed mistaken. After a while he shrugged, "Oh, well, I should search for the real featherfoil then."

"I have some," she informed him, her hand touching the pouch on her waist. "I can give it to you if you want. Not as fresh as the newly gathered though."

When what he did was only to stare pointedly at her, she grinned. "Just don't want you to get it wrong again after I make my effort to save you once, you know."

Then, very slowly, he nodded and she started to rummage her small bag. There was clinking of metal coming from the pouch, which made him steady his dagger again as she flashed him an offended look. Not a moment later, she handed him the herb and said, "Good luck to your friend. And if you ever need featherfoil again, make sure the plant you're about to pluck doesn't have thorns, okay?"

"Thanks," he mumbled and watched the girl going back to where she came from, blond hair swinging wildly in the air to follow her agile movement. Then, remembering the herb in his hand, he turned around to follow his own trace back to the campsite. When he arrived, a small fire had been lit and Kuzzey was lying closely by. Milli and Ssigh looked up and sighed in relief when he waved his full hand at them.

Following his gaze to the fire, Milli explained quickly, "He started to shiver not long after you left."

"We have to force him to swallow this," Kira passed her the herb. She nodded and pulled out her small knife.

Milli was cutting the herb into tiniest pieces possible when Tolled arrived with hasty paces, a distressed look on his face. He squinted next to his friends, breathing erratic, and said with a low voice, "I can't find the herb but there is something much more urgent."

"Don't worry, Kira got it," Ssigh told him, nodding at their female friend who now was mixing the sliced herb into a cup of water. "What is the urgent news?"

"I saw a company of Alliance Guards at the west border of the forest," he spoke quickly. "Luckily they were too busy to notice me. There was a small house there – just an ordinary one like those in Heliopolis – and they were surrounding it. Then a woman came out from the house and the guards started to shout something. I wasn't so close as to be able to hear what they said but it seemed that they were threatening her. Then – I don't know why – her eyes were suddenly on me and I instantly ran. No need to worry though, I've made sure they aren't following me."

Tolle fell silent for a moment, evaluating his friends's reaction as Milli joined them. Kira and Ssigh were sharing an uncertain look when he decided to break the silence. "Do you want to know what I think?"

Ssigh glanced sharply at him. "Don't play hero, Tolle. We are not in a favorable circumstance ourselves now."

"There must be something we can do," the smaller boy insisted. "Oh, come on! We cannot turn a blind eye to a helpless woman who is in trouble because of the guards! They do whatever they like nowadays!"

"How many are they?" Kira suddenly asked.

"Ten or so, I guess," Tolle answered right as Ssigh admonished, "Kira!"

The boy sighed heavily. "I didn't say we should jump in right away. Let us just see what is actually happening there. If there is something we can do to help her, why not?" His eyes gleamed in bitter amusement. "We are fugitives anyway."

"Be careful," Milli's quiet voice chimed all of sudden and they noticed that her gaze was steadfastly pinned at Kira's right arm. "You do not know yet what it can do to you. If you can, don't use it."

Kira nodded, assuring her. "Don't worry. I don't even know how to – like you said – use it. It was pretty much acting by itself last night."

"I ought to say that this is highly dangerous, obviously unbeneficial, indisputably reckless, and fantastically possible to end us up in an underground jail somewhere charged for heresy," across him, Ssigh solemnly declared and then got up on his feet, his long sword set proudly on his shoulder. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"I know I love you all," Tolle grinned at his friends, also standing up. "Follow me. It's not too far from here, somewhere close to the west bank and we can hide easily enough among the trees."

After organizing his own sort of weaponries, Kira called for Torii and placed it onto Milli's shoulder. "Let us know as soon as possible if anything bad is happening here," he spoke quickly as Torii chirped in somewhat a solemn manner, obviously an acknowledgment. "I've set up a guarding spell around here but send Torii for me if anything goes wrong."

As soon as he received a nod from the girl, he immediately followed his friends' tracks, grass and soil passing fast beneath his agile feet. The forest was quiet, he instantly noted the change from earlier, which had never been a good sign. It was eerie despite the daylight, and the wind that was hurling past his ears did not help him to establish a better judgment to his surrounding. Not a minute later, at a short distance ahead of him, he sighted Tolle and Ssigh waiting for him to catch up, their gazes noticeably locked elsewhere.

"We're too late," was what Tolle murmured in distress once Kira arrived next to him

It was not a pleasant picture that greeted his eyes as Kira turned to look at the scene. A few of the Alliance Guards were lying immobile on the ground – either unconscious or lifeless – with no little blood tainting the earth and spoiling the air with their nauseating scent. There were four who were still on their feet, three of them holding a spear each, which was aimed cagily to a body of a woman while the last one was toying his sword maliciously in front of an unconscious dark-skinned man. They had obviously been putting up quite a fight, but a two-against-ten battle was anything but fair.

The guards were talking quietly among themselves, one of them – probably the captain – declaring that their hostages were not to be killed. The instruction was ended by a short bark of mocking laugh as he cut a few strands of the woman's thick brown hair with the tip of his lance. Nothing was mentioned about injuring them though, the captain added and Kira could feel his blood seething in his veins. They had to act, he knew it, but apprehension took hold of his feet as various plans speeded across his mind in but a hazy blur.

All of a sudden, he felt his arm seized by Tolle in a tight grip. Kira immediately forgot to wince when he saw that the guard with a sword was in a stance to hack down at the dark-skinned man, most likely wanting to take a revenge for his comrades by cutting one or two limbs. Before he could react, Tolle had pulled an arrow from his quiver and placed it on his bow, ready to shoot.

That moment, much to everyone's surprise, a mass of sharp jagged ices burst through from the earth, forcing the guard with sword to jump back with a number of new bleeding wounds. Then suddenly, the presumably unconscious woman took a leap back to her bloodied feet and dashed to her comrade's side, picking up an abandoned sword in process. Fast to recover from their initial shock, the guards now refocused to corner her once again.

It was the time to act. Kira tapped Tolle's shoulder lightly as he ran to the open field with his own sword unsheathed, followed by Ssigh. The nearest guard sensed their coming and turned around, right as Kira rolled forward and an arrow whizzed past him. A sharp cry from the guard told him that Tolle – as usual – had hit the target and he swiftly swept the guard's feet with a fluid kick. One down. Ssigh, he had the chance to notice, was also faring well in his fight with another guard. Wasting no time, he moved to the second guard with spear.

This one had no excellent technique and Kira was about to plummet him when a heavy blow of wind struck him hard, obliging him to put some distances to his falling target. From the corner of his eyes, he noted that it was the guard with sword using magic on him and immediately dropped down to one of his knees, pressing his unequipped hand to the ground. A wall made of solid soil appeared from the ground a moment later, effectively sheltering him from the wind.

With the wind now blocked, Kira agilely climbed the wall and lunged forward once he had reached the top, disarming the second guard. A hit with the hilt of his sword to the back of the guard's neck put him unconscious at once. He still could dodge another attack of wind magic on the last moment and was starting to make a dash to his attacker when a shoot from Tolle hit the guard's right foot and hence, providing him with an easier chance to take the man down.

All down. Due to either exhaustion or sheer relief, Kira sank to his feet.

"Kira! Are you okay?" Ssigh rushed to his side, obviously coming up victorious in his own fight. From behind the trees, Tolle came running to them with a dagger ready on his hand.

"Yes, but I think she needs help," Kira nodded at the woman who was watching them bewilderedly but cautiously, her sword ready at her side.

Noting the crimson stain on her leggings, Ssigh moved closer but she only raised her sword higher at his approach. When she opened her mouth, her voice still came out stable and firm. "Who are you, boys?"

Ssigh offered her an uncertain smile. "Before that, what if we take a look at your wound first? It looks pretty ugly."

"But much before that," Tolle cut in, still eyeing the unconscious guards suspiciously, "do you have any rope we can use, Ma'am? It may be better to make sure that they won't be able to make a surprise attack like you did."

"Yes, of course," she replied quickly and then nodded to the left side of the house. "We keep ropes at the tool shed there, if you can go and get them for me." Without answering, Tolle rushed to find the ropes.

Kira stood up and approached the still unconscious man, squatting carefully next to him. Black curly hair was messily covering most of the man's face, leaving only an unshaved chin and a little of tanned skin to see. The boy took a glance at the brown-haired woman, noting the vigilant look on her face, and asked, "Is he your companion?"

Her chocolate eyes flashed a keen look. "That depends on why you are here."

Kira was regarding her calmly, not answering, when Ssigh spoke up with a somber tone, "The wound I don't think I can handle. It's pretty deep." He looked at Kira and got on his feet. "I'll go fetch Milli and Kuzzey. She may be able to do something about this."

After Ssigh had left, Kira returned his attention to the man in front of him, searching for any injury which had brought him to the state he was now. Apart from numerous shallow cuts and several bruises, there was a nasty wound at the back of his head, swollen and covered with dried blood. A mix of several herbs should be able to heal it just fine, Kira thought to himself, even though of course any effect inflicted to the mind was beyond any cure but time.

"Hey, I find the ropes!" Tolle appeared from the shed and tossed several of the mentioned items to his remaining friend. "You get the guards over there, Kira. I'll handle these ones."

Tentatively, Kira did as told, binding the hands as well as feet of the – fortunately – still unconscious guards. For safety measure, he also removed every kind of weapon he could find and gathered them into a pile near the house. Every so often his eyes would spare a glance at his friend at the other side of the small field, wary of any unexpected strike.

For the first time he had the chance to properly evaluate his surrounding. The house was of medium size, made of bricks and painted bright white. A small poor-kept garden decorated the path that led to the house, weeds mingling everywhere with full-blooming flowers. It looked every bit a residence of normal villagers who were probably too reluctant to dwell in the village with others. As for why the inhabitants were apparently far from ordinary – not to mention the level of magic the brown-haired woman had displayed just then was nothing ordinary – and the Alliance Guard was going after them, Kira had absolutely no idea.

"What should we do with them?" Tolle crouched next to him as he tied a tight knot for the last soldier. Need much more than brute strength to unfasten it, he thought with satisfaction.

"I'm not sure," Kira sent a doubtful gaze to the silent woman they had aided. "Maybe we can ask her first. She doesn't seem to be an ordinary woman and the man there surely isn't her relative or her husband. You have never seen them before, have you?"

Tolle shook his head and sighed half-heartedly, "Why do we always get ourselves into serious troubles?"

"Then be responsible for it, Tolle. This is your brilliant idea," Kira stuck his tongue out.

"That's my talent," the other boy winked as they walked across the lawn, back to where the injured woman was. She had torn half of her legging and now visible on her fairly pale skin was a deep gash which ran from the base of her knee to her ankle. Tolle winced at the sight and quickly said, "I'll get some water from the well back there. It sure needs to be cleaned."

Kira nodded absentmindedly and sat next to the woman. "It was made by a spear?" he inquired quietly.

"Yes," she acknowledged, a look of despair on her face. "If only I have the power to use my magic, I should be able to heal this right now. And him," she turned to look at her companion.

"Right, water is your element," Kira remarked thoughtfully. "The ice attack you used back then was great. It was utterly unexpected."

"Thank you," she replied and fell silent afterward. For a while, she only observed the young man's face across her, vigilance never leaving her eyes, but when she eventually spoke, her tone was gentler than he thought. "May I know what are you boys doing here?"

There was an uncomfortable look residing on Kira's face for a moment before he gave an answer. "We were just passing by when we heard sounds of fighting. Then we took a look out of curiosity and here it ended like this."

An amused smile broke on her lips at the short explanation as the woman said with an even more amused tone, "I really want to say that I do not believe it but I owe you my life. In this situation, I totally have no right to complain, do I?" She chuckled a little. "You have great skills, in magic too. That alone makes it hard to believe that you are merely a common villager," her gaze shifted to his left arm, "and I cannot recall that there has ever been a common villager who has a Phidias."

Kira did not answer. He only maintained a pensive gaze at her and very slowly, a wistful smile appeared on his lips. He still did not answer. There was no need for her to know what he had had to give away in exchange of his Phidias.

The sound of footsteps approaching made him look up, away from her questioning eyes. He found himself looking at Miriallia running toward him while Ssigh trudging behind her with Kuzzey on his back. The black-haired boy did not seem to be awake yet. Hovering above them all was Torii, its wings reflecting the sunlight as it voiced a small 'torii!' at the sight of him. Kira could not help but smile as the spirit rested from the hurried flight on his shoulder, offering his cheek an affectionate peck.

"How is Kuzzey?" he asked once Milli arrived in front of him, busily adjusting her fast breathing.

"The featherfoil works wonderfully," the brown-haired girl shot him a quick smile, which immediately changed into a concerned expression. "Are you hurt, Kira?"

"I'm fine, but maybe you can take a look of these wounded ones here," Kira motioned at the woman and her friend.

At once Milli noticed the hideous wound his friend was pointing at. The injured woman herself was giving her an unsure look, probably wondering why on earth there was a girl among the group of boys. Flashing a reassuring smile, Milli kneeled next to her and was about to speak when a loud voice distracted her. "Milli!"

Tolle emerged from the house, carrying a full pail of water easily with one hand and a washcloth he apparently had found in the house with the other. "Good to see that you're okay!"

"We parted just a little while ago," the girl pointed out, rolling her eyes. "But you guys sure were able to make quite a mess during that 'little while' here."

"But everything turns out just fine, thanks to us," Tolle said with a wide grin and offered the pail to Milli, who immediately took it. She turned to the woman, smiling benignly.

"If you permit, Ma'am – no, I mean..."

The woman quickly responded, "The name is Mira Rousia. I am sorry for not introducing myself first," she returned the smile apologetically.

"What is a person like you doing here anyway?" Ssigh asked as he lowered Kuzzey to the ground next to them, helped by Kira. Sharp vigilance flashed in his eyes when he declared with a lower tone, "One thing for sure, do not expect us to believe that you are just one of the villagers of Heliopolis, particularly with that advanced level of magic."

"I can say the same of your friend here," the woman nodded to Kira with a tight smile. When none of the boys made a sign any of them would reply, she continued carefully, "I cannot express my thanks enough to all of you for helping us, but if you refuse to believe the simplest explanation, I'm afraid I cannot say more than that."

There was a short bark of laugh coming from Tolle. His eyes twinkled as he said, "You speak as if the world will end if we know who you are."

"Perhaps to us, it will," the woman answered quietly.

"Well, don't let us know then," the boy countered with an easy grin. "It's as simple as that. But in return, allow us to reveal nothing more than our names to you."

"As simple as that, you say," a smile began to bloom on her face, easing the grave lines it had retained a moment ago. There was something close to wonder in her eyes as she regarded the group of youngsters, all now smiling due to their friend's neat handling of the matter. Her smile grew into a small laugh and she nodded, "Very well. I take it's a deal then."

"Perfect," Tolle grinned back at her.

"He is always like that," Millie said almost apologetically to the older woman. Then, suddenly, she frowned and the bluish glow appearing from her palm vanished. Sighing a heavy breath, Millie wiped her forehead and looked up, saying, "I'm sorry, but this is the best I can do. I think you will need two more days to let it completely heal."

At the suggestion, Rousia's face darkened and she spoke with a solemn voice, "I'm afraid we must leave this place as soon as possible," but then she smiled a little, "still I thank you for your help. I am not able to do much in my own with this condition."

"You have somewhere to go?" Kira inquired.

She smiled ruefully at his question. "You can say that. But of course I cannot afford to stay here any longer with this incident happening," she glanced around at her chaotic surrounding.

"We may be able to help," Tolle suddenly piped up.

"Which means?" Ssigh threw a wary glance at his friend.

The other boy laughed. "Nothing to worry, Ssigh, my little idea is utterly harmless. You know that I know this forest like my own backyard, don't you? Now, there is a small cave at the other side of the river, quite a distance from here but still reachable if we set out at once. I was about to mention it to you earlier but since many things happened, I totally forgot about it."

"Are you sure it's really safe?" Millie asked apprehensively.

"Quite, if we cover our tracks well," Tolle replied in brimming confidence. "No Alliance Guard will be able to find it unless they manage to turn every rock and stone."

During the exchange, Rousia stared at each of the youngsters, reluctance battling hopefulness visible in her eyes. With a heavy sigh, she voiced her disagreement, "I do appreciate the effort. However, it may be best for you not to get involved with us."

Kira settled her with an odd look and stated, "Our Master said that heartless people turn their backs on those who need aid the most, but only those who are not only heartless but also dishonorable can walk away from people they have helped halfway."

"Right," Ssigh agreed, "and nothing can make us show less gratitude to him than disobeying the small proverbs of his life."

"Is there anything I can say or do that may be able to change your mind?"

"More likely than not, no," Tolle replied, grinning victoriously, and then looked around at his friends. "Let's go now!"

- To be continued -

Notes: The problem with making a story with too many characters is how to organize the conversation. Oh, I have done what I can anyway... Hope you enjoy it, folks. About the bees, let's just assume that they are different from our bees. I don't know if actual bees can cause any illness except anaphylactic shock.

And to fulfill a request from purple1, from now on I will include the sneak-peek of the next chapter.

Chapter 3: Athrun makes his first entrance and a look into the Kingdom of ZAFT!

Thanks for reading and please review!

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Tolle Koenig

Age: 17

Rank: None

Element: Earth

Origin: Heliopolis

Statistics:

-- Strength: 102 (excellent)

-- Defense: 93 (good)

-- Magic: 72 (average)

-- Magic Defense: 75 (average)

-- Agility: 119 (excellent)

-- Accuracy: 114 (excellent)

-- Stamina: 104 (excellent)

Specialty: Scouting