Seryu and I made our way towards the Capital, and into the heart of this decaying nation. As we made our way down the forest path, I heard rustling from the trees to the side of the path. Evil was afoot. Nodding to Seryu, I reached for the longsword sheathed behind my back and placed a hand on the pistol holstered on my belt, my sister equipping her tonfa. I hope she remembered to load those things before we left...

"Looks like our lucky day. Not many travelers come this way ya know." I glared in annoyance as five- maybe six, bandits appered from the shadows of the forest, grinning and brandishing their weapons. I am not in the mood for getting mugged.

Of all the paths leading to the Capital, Seryu chooses the most dangerous, in hopes of carrying out justice to any unfortunate souls stupid enough to attack us.

"Now, lower your weapons and give us everything and anything you own. No one has to get hurt and we'll let you own your way." The bandit leader ordered with a streak of arrogance. From looking at him, I can tell he was only recently put in command, since he possessed the hubris of a new leader. Ah, the arrogance of youth.

I glanced over at Seryu, and her expression chilled me to the bone. She was looking down, not at the bandits, her eyes were dilated and wide, the size of dinner plates. She was grinning, but not the grin that I was used to. No, this was a grin born from her overzealous devotion to justice. In Seryu's eyes, all crimes were equal and to her, there was only one sentence worthy enough to deal with such evil: death.

"Hey buddy, I'll be taking that ring of yours. Give it here." At that, Seryu snapped. My older sister let out a soft chuckle, chuckling rose to soft laughter, then elevated into a wicked and maniacal cackle, which unnerved the bandits. You shouldn't have gone there, buddy.

"Papa was killed in the line of duty while fighting evil in the name of Justice. Evil killed my Papa, and now it threatens my little brother?!" Her wild laughter died abruptly and was replaced with a wicked scowl as her deranged eyes burn holes into the bandits. "Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damnyoudamnyoudamnyoudamnyoudamnyou! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE! DIE!" She screamed hysterically, unloading bullets indiscriminatly into the unfortunate bandits. I expected this situation not to be pretty, but I didn't expect them to set Seryu off this badly.

-xXx-

Once the former bandits were little more than stains in the dirt, I wrapped my arms around Seryu in efforts to calm her down and soothe her. "Seryu it's alright, they're all dead. Justice has prevailed." I pulled her into my chest and ran my fingers through her long auburn hair. After Father's death, Seryu appeared to be alright in the beginning, but I knew better to think so. Marcoh's passing left his daughter unstable and caused her to become a lot more overprotective of me, her little brother and her only family left. Hell, she was my only other family left too.

We were all that we had, and we both knew this. Seeing Seryu like this never shocked or disturbed me. It never made me think less of her, nor did it ever cause me to shy away from her. I loved Seryu Ubiquitious and nothing could ever change that fact, not even this blind devotion to irrational justice of hers.

"They were going to hurt you." She whimpered in my chest, burying herself deeper into my shirt. "They were going to take away the one thing you cherish most in this world." I chuckled softly and stroked her head affectionately, comforting her. "You're still here, aren't you?" I replied simply with a smile. With her face buried in my chest, I couldn't see it, but I knew she smiled at that. "You're the best partner a Warrior of Justice could ask for, little brother." I smiled warmly at her and sighed.

"Let's go, Seryu. The capital awaits ahead and so does the future. Onwards, Warriors of Justice!"

-xXx-

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE CAN'T JOIN?! He's my little brother!" Seryu shouted in protest at the Imperial Guardsman recruiter. I sighed dismissively at this rejection. Unfortunately, Seryu didn't realize how the Empire felt about those who were born on the borders outside of the Capital walls.

I sighed and placed a hand on Seryu's shoulder, trying to calm her down. I knew something like this would happen, and I was prepared for it. "Seryu, it's alright. I'll be fine and figure something out. I know there'll be a way where we can fight together in the name of Justice, but for now I want you to join, since you actually can." I flashed her a smile as the two guardsmen by the recruitment door escorted me out, separating me from Seryu.

I was anxious to leave Seryu on her own, but I had faith in her and I trusted her on her own. She was two years older than me after all. Exposed to the streets of the capital, I sighed and put on a heavy light gray cloak for obvious reasons and took a step forward, only to find myself crashing into the side of the first person walking on the streets.

Shaking my head, I found several swords and spears pointed at my face as several armed soldiers shoved their weapons in my face. Oh, it's a good thing Seryu wasn't here right now.

Immediately, I smelt the scent of tobacco smoke as I peered into the face of a lavender eyed woman with an amused smirk, a tobacco pipe sticking out of her mouth.

"Stand down, all of you. He meant nothing by it. Accidents happen." Her mannerisms, the way she spoke, all suggested that she was someone of great importance. The woman's voice rang with authority and the guards sheathed their weapons reluctantly, yet keeping a weary eye on me.

The woman offered a hand to me and I hesitantly took it, being pulled up to my feet. I blinked at the white haired woman, stunned and speechless, but my awe soon died quickly once I remembered where I was, and was replaced with spite and bitterness.

No, to show any awe or respect to these monsters would mean that I've forgotten who I am or what these bastards did. "I apologize for any inconvenience that I caused. I'll get out of your sight as soon as I can." I apologized flatly, turning to leave the woman without another word. I didn't care how damn important they were to the Empire, I just wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as possible without directing attention to myself or my ring.

"General Najenda, the Prime Minister is expecting you in the throne room. I would suggest to not keep him waiting." A voice said to the woman. Wait...General...Najenda...SHE'S A GENERAL?!

Finally realizing how badly I screwed up by smacking into a general, I quickly walked away from the General before she could remember my presence. Feeling like I moved a safe distance away from her and her troops, I then ducked into a shadowy ally. Sighing, I sat down leaned against a brick wall, comforted by the shadows that hid myself from the public eye.

-xXx-

"Hey, is this spot taken?" A voice, a girl's voice, asked me. The voice was void of emotion, sounding as if they were both mental and emotionally drained from whatever hell they went through all their life.

"Not to my knowledge it isn't. I don't give a damn where you sit either way." I replied with the same amount of apathy. A maroon cloaked figure wordlessly bent down and took a seat beside me. Long pink hair dangled from under her hood as the girl leaned back onto the brick wall. I tucked my ring under my shirt, just to be safe, and buried my face deeper into my hood.

We sat beside each other in silence for what felt like hours. It wasn't that we found comfort in each others company, but we both felt content to say the least. We were strangers, we didn't know each other, we didn't know each others names, but neither of us really cared.

"Malik." I spoke, shattering the silence between the two of us.

I was met with light pink eyes and slightly tannish face. The girl's skin was much paler than my own, but the two of us did share a variation of the same tanned skin. I was a westerner, and she was half westerner also.

"Hm?" She asked, blinking at me questioningly.

"My name, it's Malik. Figured since we're both going to possibly spend the night here, I might as well give you my name." I explained with a sigh, pulling down my hood to show my face.

The girl responded with the same action, revealing messy long pink matted hair. Her face was covered in dirt and dust and had an empty look in her light pink eyes that I once had before Marcoh took me in. A look that appeared to be void of any chance of hope. She was about the same age as me, if not a few years younger.

"My...my name is.." The girl hesitated, reluctant to open herself up to a stranger or show any sign of trust. I don't blame her really. I've been there, down the same path this girl is going.

"It's alright. If you don't trust me, I don't need to know your name. I'll probably be gone before you wake up anyways." I said gently, but still kept my expressionless mask.

Instead, the girl shook her head with a sigh. "It's okay. Since you haven't mocked me or shot me a nasty look, the least I can do is tell you my name." I found her struggle to open up to me a bit flattering and almost...adorable.

I let out a slight chuckle, receiving a scowl from the girl, but I shook my head and explained myself. "As far as I care, we're both westerners. Frankly, I don't really give a damn about skin color, we're all people aren't we? We all bleed the same red blood, don't we?"

Realizing that I went on a rant, I blushed slightly and sunk down into my cloak, a bit embarrassed. Risking a glance at the girl, I saw her eyes wide in surprise, her cheeks blushing red. Whatever I said had a bit of an impact to her it seems.

"Mine." She said absently, still staring at me wide-eyed and blushing. "My name is Mine."

Sighing softly, I chuckled, relishing in this moment with this girl, Mine. It's been years since I found myself this comfortable around someone else other than Seryu.

"Hey Mine, if you were given the chance, how would you change this nation?" I asked, gazing at the evening sky.