This chapter will emphasizes a change from the usual trend where Kira is a supremely powerful and perfect guy (he was such a guy in Of Demons And Gods, and I got criticized for it), in here, he's physically underwhelming, inexperienced in fighting, and more into brains than muscles, and has a horrendous sense of direction to boot. Call it OC if you want.

NOTE:

"Doryaaaaaaaaaa!": normal talking

"Charge!": special case

'Darn!': thoughts

GWA HA HA HA! : Giant creature speech

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

Chapter 4:

Road to Archangel

"Uhgh…" The first sensation that welcomed him was utter pain. Kira struggled to get back on his feet, but found someone was holding him back. He opened his eyes and saw Murrue Ramias smiled at him. "…Ramias-san?"

"You finally wake up. Stay where you are. Your skull has taken a good knock."

Kira take another look around. His body was bandaged here and there. He was in a… caravan? The constant shook underneath him signifies that the caravan is moving.

"Where am I?"

"I could explain, but first, I think I'll let your friends do the explaining to you."

The woman left the caravan, and a few moments later, Sai, Milly, Tolle, and Kuzzey all climbed his ward and start cheering at the sight of him awake.

"Whoa, whoa… easy there. I'm still wounded."

"Nah! I think you'll be fine in a couple of minutes or so. You've always been a fast healer, after all."

"Maybe… someone can fill me on what's going on?"

And the gang found themselves choosing their words carefully. Sai decided to start. "Well… where should we start… well… we were preparing to leave to the underground cave as instructed, but we wait for you. Then we heard the explosion, and I tried to find out what's going on."

"The ninja's blocked the way to the front gate. So we climbed the clock tower. It was tall enough to at least see what's going on." Tolle continued. "We saw the explosion. And we also saw that half of the army left the front gate. That's when the masked guy and the Mwu guy start fighting."

"It didn't last long. Mwu-san and Raww le Klueze were evenly matched though." Milly followed. "But Raww backed off first. Apparently he wanted to tend to his men. And so the whole army retreated. That's when Ramias-san and Natarle-san returned, with you, unconscious."

At this, Kira sigh a relief. "So… I guess our home is safe?"

"errhh… not quite…" Kuzzey fiddled his finger. He doesn't know what to say to Kira. "I mean… you've been unconscious for like… three days…"

Kira blinked. Three days? Wait a damn minute. "…Sai? What happened in those three days?"

Sai saw no choice. "…apparently, Zaft was furious at the defeat. Quite some of their men were killed… and they retaliate quickly. Just yesterday, a whole bulk of an army hailing from Fortress Gamoff returned and began attacking the city and…"

Kira's eyes widened. "…Amaterasu… fell?"

"…almost correct… they've burned it to the ground."

Kira jaw hung. "So… now we're in…"

"Well, luckily, Barry Ho-dono had made sure that all of the citizens had reached safety when they arrived. The army burned the city down only because they couldn't find anyone to exert their anger." Tolle replied.

Kira still thinking. "…so… right now where are we going? Onogoro? Izumo? Kyoto?"

At this, the gang's face turned sour again. Sai break the silence. "…the refugee would most likely go there. But… that's not where we are going."

"What?"

"…because we were waiting for you, and then you appeared all wounded and all that, we decided we'll go last. But then the army came and… we never actually to get to the cave."

Kira, for a moment, appreciated how his friend would loyally stand by his side. But he quickly reasserts himself. "You never made it? Then… how?"

"You can thank Mwu-san for this."

"Mwu-san?"

"The night before the attack begin, Mwu-san had rendezvous with some of his men. And with their help, we managed to escape the city. We are now at their custody and travelling under the disguise of a travelling merchant. But we have no idea where we are going."

Kira nodded. "I see…" The boy grunted and frowned, trying to remember what else he had forgotten. 'Ahh… right… I remember now… I got thrown by the explosion and I… fainted?'

"You killed my comrades… my man…"

The realization hit his head like hammer through a knife. He blow the whistle… he killed people… those people at the base… burn them to death. Kira's eyes widened, looking at his own hands, it was as if someone poured blood on it. '…My God… that's right I killed… all those people…' And suddenly he felt sick… really sick. He covered his mouth and in one final blow, he vomited.

His friends, shocked at the sudden outburst, found Kira was shivering. Cold sweat flooded his face and his feature become thoroughly pale. Kira gasps and pants. Sai looked at him and wondered what happened. "Kira… are you okay?"

Sai's words brought him back to reality and looked around. His friends were all startled. But again he remembered what he had done. "…can you all… leave me for a moment? I need to be alone for now."

"Kira-" Kuzzey was about to say something, but Sai grabbed his shoulder. Apparently he understood that something's wrong with Kira's psyche. Something had gone horribly wrong. Thus, the gang left the ward and Sai was the last to leave. But before he does so: "…you did kill them, Kira. Mwu and the others set the bomb and you pull the trigger. But you do so to protect our home… I… you should appreciate yourself."

Kira blinked. He looked at Sai, who smiled encouragingly at him. Kira, unfortunately, was too pale to properly return the gesture. Sai left the ward, leaving him to his thoughts. Just then, someone else appeared on the other side of the ward. It was Mwu.

"Hey, sleeping beauty! Wake up at last?"

"Mwu-san."

"Yo."

The elder man sat with his back to Kira. Silence reigned for a few minutes, and Kira decided to start. "…you told Sai about what I have done?"

"It seems the right choice. Amongst your gang, he seem to be the one most well versed in welfare, to an extent. He understands."

"…Sai's fiancée is Fllay Allister. Ring the bell?"

"Daughter of George Allister, a minister of the Alliance? I got you."

"Hmm…" Kira back to himself again.

Mwu, being a soldier, quickly knows what's eating the boy. "It sure felt sucks in the aftermath ain't it? Killing people and all."

Kira blinked. "…you get this kind of feeling too? When you get your first kill, I mean."

"Everybody does. In normal situation, people getting his first kill are enough force to drive him to quit killing for a second time. But right now, it's war. And war is not a normal situation."

"But Sai's right. All those knights trapped in the base… I… I…pulled the trigger."

"Yes. You killed them. Under my orders. But that doesn't make it any different."

"…"

"They say: killing depends on how often you do it. The more you do it, the more you get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to killing!"

"And I never said you have to."

Kira paused for a moment.

"Frankly… I came here to say I'm sorry. I've forced you to do something that would taint your conscious for life. And I doubt you would forgive me."

The brunette sighed. "I don't know about that. The deed is done. We'll just have to see… anyway… my friends told me we're not heading to Izumo or Onogoro. So, where are we going?"

Glad to change the subject, Mwu replied. "Archangel."

"Archangel? The Fortress Archangel?"

"That's the one."

"Why there, of all the places?"

"Because unlike some a half million souls walking underneath the ground, we don't have the protection nor the direction. We know where Archangel is, so that's where we'll be going."

Kira nodded. Orb ruled the entirety of Japan Island, with the current capital in Onogoro. Because of their neutrality, the government forbids any foreign (Alliance or Zaft) fortress to be built in Orb's land, except 1 fortress: The Archangel Fortress. A massive fortress located near the shoreline of Japan's western coast. Kira had only heard of it, it was a fortress built in a joint project by both Orb and the Alliance. The project was originally a plan of frontline defense to prevent any outside attackers and for the security of Orb waters. A few complications arise due to the shortage of fund and resources, and Orb contacted the Alliance for both. In return, the Alliance may use the base for transit and lodging for their men. At least, that's what the fortress was supposed to be. With the coming of war though, the fortress were repurposed to a battle fortress.

"I don't know anything else about that battle fortress."

"Well… the Archangel is right now under control of Captain Lewis 'Iron Wall' Halbarton. Familiar name?"

"No."

"Funny. His profile said he once belong to the Orb army. But he left and joined the Alliance and he was posted here."

"Isn't it obvious? I'm betting he wanted to be posted here to make sure the Alliance didn't use the Archangel for their own purposes."

"You're pretty sharp for a ramen waiter."

"I'm not that stupid."

Mwu laughed. He really liked this kid.

Kira smirked. "Say, where are we?"

"You tell me kid. We're simply heading west. After all, we know where the base is… but we don't know how long it'll take to get there."

"I see." Kira took a deep breath. He looked at his body for a moment, and start undoing his bandages, starting from the one on his head.

"Wowow… easy! No need to get out of the bed in a hurry. Your head is still bleeding from yester-" Mwu's words were cut short after Kira removed his bandage. His head was totally unscratched. Quickly enough, Kira removed every bandage in his body. "I'll be damned…"

"I'm always a fast healer… that's my special ability… I think." Kira smiled. Every bandage in his body has been removed and he can walk just fine.

"You're an advanced huh? Well, Pore did tell me about it…"

"Now… what I need is…" His stomach answered the question. "Something to eat."

"The supply wagon is the one behind this wagon. We only got Soybeans and a bit flour though."

Kira thought up for a moment. "Soybeans… flour… got it."

The two got out of the caravan but head on opposing direction: Mwu forward, Kira backwards.

Kira looked around and saw they were just a small group of 3 caravans. When Kira arrived at the supply wagon, the man take charge of it welcomed him. "I'm Arnold Neuman. I'm in charge of this wagon. You want something to eat? We don't have much to give you though."

"I'll take care of that… erhh… Mwu told me… we only have soybeans and a little bit flour. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Can I see the content?"

"Sure…" Neuman wondered what on earth Kira's up to.

000000000000000

Hours passed…

Mwu meet up with Murrue and Natarle at the front. "The boy seems to be okay."

"What? That was fast."

"Yeah, and get this. The boy didn't even have the slightest scratch on his body. Paul was right. This kid's regenerative ability is off the chart."

"Still… what about Shiki? Do you think that boy…" Natarle was observing Shiki.

"No. Not now."

"But we found the boy unconscious with a half kilometer long cut on the ground. Do you think…?"

"I don't know… and I really hope it's not what I think it is."

"But-"

"Natarle Fukutaichou!! CUT IT OUT!" Mwu growled. Startling both women. "Under my orders, that boy had just turned into a murderer. Don't even think of shoving more weight on his back."

"H-Hai…"

Mwu sighed… and then his nose caught a scent… a wondrous scent of food… Someone's cooking! "Sniff… it smells good…"

"It's coming from the supply wagon." Murrue also smells it. Natarle was also wondering about the smell, and then she noticed that Kira's gang of friends was running towards the supply wagon, along with some of Mwu's men.

"Wha… what the… why are they leaving their post?"

Mwu turned his head and looked. They were heading towards the supply wagon. "I think something's interesting happening on the Supply wagon."

Mwu, Murrue and Natarle finally decided to get down and look for themselves. They stopped the caravan and go take a look at the supply wagon. Upon the sight, Mwu laughed, Murrue hummed in awe, and Natarle was quite shocked. Kira was holding a pair of literally blazing wok with both of his hands. Once in a while, he tossed the content of the wok up in the air. One wok was cooking noodles, and the other wok was cooking meat and tofu. Every time Kira tossed the content to the air, the spectator cheered, particularly his friends. A few more times of tossing and the fire finally died down. "Neuman-san! Plate or bowl… big one!"

"O… Okay!" Neuman immediately grabbed a large plate and put it on the fold out table. Kira placed the noodle on the plate, and then poured the tofu and the meat on top. "San no tofu Yakisoba, (triple tofu fried noodle) Complete!" Kira smiled at his handwork.

Mwu chuckled. "Oi… Kiddo… you can cook?"

"Figure everyone would be hungry by now. So might as well make enough for everyone. There are… 15 of us… right?"

"Erh… yeah… and that's enough for 15 alright…"

Everyone looked at the incredibly appetizing noodle. Mwu take a look at the food. Noodle, Tofu… and meat? "Oi… kiddo… where did you get the meat?"

"yo! Captain! I think we should eat first, ask question later no?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Other soldiers agreed.

Sai chuckled. "Don't worry. The taste is guaranteed!"

"Yeah! We can testify to that… and Kira! This is the San no Tofu Yakisoba, right?"

"You see em." Kira smiled.

Neuman chuckled. He grabbed a pan and banged it with a spoon. "Alright, everyone get in line!"

They do so in less than a second. The three seated officer get the first chance. Mwu looked at the meal. 'San no Tofu Yakisoba? Oh well…' Mwu grabbed his chopstick and began eating. Everyone looked at the captain as he took the first bite… and got literally enthralled. "…my… god… U… Umaiiiiiiiiiii!!" It was so delicious; the Captain fell on the ground. Murrue and Natarle looked at their downed friend. 'So good that he'd fell down for it?' The two ladies also get their share, and upon testing… their reaction were… well, less dramatic then Mwu's, but their expression speaks for itself. Upon seeing that their Captains were enraptured by it, the soldiers eagerly awaited their share.

"UWOOOOOHH!"

"UMAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIII!"

"SUGOOOIIII!!"

Mwu quickly finished his share and along with 5 more soldiers, demand an "Okawari!"

"Ie!" Kira refused flat out as he sipped his noodle. The plate is already empty, everyone already get their share, including Arnold.

"Eh? Why?" Mwu look downed.

"Because we have a limited amount of soybeans and supplies, I rationed them and made provisions for 45 meals. That's enough for 15 days. 23 if we make it up somehow. You have to wait for the dinner if you want more."

Mwu and the soldiers looked in awe at the obviously younger Kira. Murrue chuckled at Mwu's antics. "But I'm surprised… I didn't know you were a chef."

"How many times do you think my boss skimped on his work? When that happened, I'm the one in charge. I have to cook, clean the tables, serve the customer… all that… by myself. So I have to know all his dishes cold."

"Really… then… can you explain? This meat… where did you get it? It tasted like… beef. But I remember we don't have any cows."

"Mwu-san… that… is NOT meat."

"What?" Everyone, except the giggling and chuckling Kira's gang, jaw hung.

"It's tofu." Kira explained. "Or tofu remains, to be exact. The remains are mixed with some soyu ketchups and then fried and thus we got the meat taste. But it's kinda softer and smaller. If I have better ingredients like potato and mushroom I can make it closer to meat's crispiness… but for now, that's the best I can come up with."

Mwu's jaw hung. 'San no Tofu Yakisoba… San?' "Wait a minute… what's the third tofu on the dish?"

"It's the noodle." Kira answered. "Hard pressed the tofu to get the water inside out, mix it together with some flour and knead it till it is resilient enough."

"And you still managed to cook something like this… and ration our food for 15 days?" Even Natarle had to admit, she was impressed.

"Of course. I'm a chef. What do you expect?" Kira had gulped the last bit of his food. "It's the one thing I'm good at right now. So might as well do what I can."

Mwu smiled. "Well… I think squad 9 finally found themselves a chef, right boys?"

The prospect of eating Kira's dishes was enough to get the soldiers unanimously cried out one loud "HOORAY!"

Neuman laughed. "I'm glad. A decent chef is a… luxury, and we soldiers don't get that often."

"Really? But you are the chef? Aren't you upset I'm taking over your job?"

"I'm a makeshift chef. My last predecessor only left this simple list of menu: Bean porridge, bean soup, roast beans, boiled beans… and he seems to have a weird understanding of gastronomy."

"How weird?"

Neuman cleared his throat and mock copy a person speaking: "To make a good bean soup, you put a pound of wet beans in the big round flask here and boil it for half an hour, then you throw a horseshoe, if the horseshoe doesn't float you add some more beans… get the general idea?"

Kira sweat dropped.

000000000000000

Somewhere in the middle of the sea…

"75, 76, 77, 78…"

Four guards standing guard around a prison cell could not help but look at the occupant. Right now, the imprisoned was doing a handstand push up… with only his forefingers. Both of the prisoner's hands and legs are chained. But the prisoner didn't show any sign of disturbed by its weight whatsoever. Just then, the door opened and a warden came in, bringing some meal and a jug of water. "Hey! You lot! What are you doing!?"

"79, 80, 81, 82…"

"Ah… we're watching the prisoner sir!"

"83, 84, 85, 86…"

"Very intently I see."

"87, 88, 89, 90…"

"Erhh well…"

"91, 92, 93, 94…"

The warden took a look at the prisoner. The said inmate did not seem to care he was being watched as he did his handstand with his back facing the warden. "Your food's here."

"95…" The prisoner did not stop his handstand. "97, 98, 99, 100." And then he stopped and hopped back to his two legs.

"It won't do you good Zala. No matter how physically fit you are, it won't safe you when the time comes."

"I know." Athrun put on his prisoner's clothing back. "It's a force of habit. Didn't they tell you to do the same thing when they trained you in the academy?"

"They did…" The warden nodded understandingly. "I just can't believe you did some of the things they told me."

"I did it. Believe it." Athrun grabbed his bread, tore it in half, and start eating. "What news?"

"Goad Veia weren't too pleased that some of his men died in Amaterasu. On the side note, Miguel Aiman, Rusty's senior and also your fellow Raww's apprentice got scared out of his mind and was badly injured. Miguel was sent to mental hospital for brain damage and all… Anyway, Lord Veia personally led a raid on Amaterasu. They burned everything to the ground."

Athrun frowned. "Any… casualties? Zaft and Orb?"

"…none. The city was deserted. The army vented out their anger by burning the whole city but… they found nothing."

Athrun inwardly sigh a relief. 'That means Kira's safe…'

"We didn't find the Alliance Officers though."

"Hm." The raven haired boy assesses the situation. A few minutes later… "Fortress Archangel."

"Pardon?"

"That's where they'll be heading. Even if the Alliance Officers tried to get through Onogoro via the Underground tunnel, the odds are, the Orb won't have any of it. IT is their fault that Amaterasu was destroyed. Therefore, they will try to get to the safety of the Archangel's walls. Archangel is the only place where Alliance seated officers like Mwu can be well received."

The warden looked at Athrun.

"…Fortress Archangel is located near the sea… most likely, they will try to rendezvous with Captain Lewis 'Iron Wall' Halbarton. They want to acquire a ship, and then they will either try to go to Alaska or Panama, both Alliance's headquarters. But to go to Alaska from Japan, they will have to cross the Pacific Ocean… but most of our Carpentaria Naval army is stationed there, so no, they will definitely try to get the long way out to Panama… if they go by sea, they'd eventually had to get through the Red sea of Egypt…"

Now, it's the warden's turn to look in awe at the prisoner.

A laugh from behind them caught everyone's interest. It was Raww. "That chattering of yours never ceased to amaze me, Athrun."

"Lord Klueze!" The wardens bowed to their knees.

"Lord Klueze." Athrun bowed.

"So… Panama… is it?"

"Logically speaking, that would be the most obvious choice."

"But, Mwu has a tendency to disobey logic."

"Well… 90 percent of my confidence says they're going to Panama… the remaining 10 percent says they'll break through to Alaska."

"No need to worry I think. News has it that Veia is preparing his army to march. I assume he has also guessed where they be going, though he intends to stop them before they reach fort Archangel. He sent Yzak, Dearka and Nichol of the Elementals as vanguards."

Athrun nodded. "May I suggest sending a message to our fleet in Carpentaria to initiate blockade, preventing any ship to dock the Fortress… this should cut away their means of escaping Japan through sea."

"Consider it done." Klueze nodded and left, followed closely by the warden.

"Lord Klueze… don't you think you're becoming a bit too friendly with him? I mean… he's going to be court-martialed… no?"

"That he is… and I will defend him at the court."

"Mind if I ask… Why did you put so much interest on the boy? Was it because he's the son of Lord Patrick?"

"It's beyond that, and you know I didn't pick my advisor based on nobility, do you?"

"Advisor? That boy?"

"Officially, he's just an ordinary Iron Elemental Soldier. But in reality he's qualified for so much more… unless you can find someone else who's IQ is higher than 275, then I'm open for debate."

"2… 275…!?"

000000000000000

Thanks to Kira's cooking, the journey to Archangel for the last 2 days had become quite enjoyable. There's simply no way the soldiers get bored on Kira's menu list: Mapo Tofu Spring noodle rolls, tempura Tofu soba, Yakitofu Soba… most of Kira's dishes, much to Mwu's delight, are noodle based. "Well… that's what boss taught me… aside from basic food knowledge, most of the advanced cooking knowledge is on how to make various kinds of noodle based dish with various kinds of ingredients."

"MMMM!! Don't worry! I'm satisfied enough with this!" Mwu cried tears of joy. Kira's gang can only laugh at the elder's antics. Kira made a normal tofu ramen with some fake minced meat. He finished his share in a blink of an eye. "Kid! Listen… I've been doing some thinking…"

"About what?"

Mwu thought up for a moment, apparently he was choosing his words carefully. "Yesterday, Natarle, Murrue and I discussed it, and we agreed that this is for the best."

"Nanni?" Milly and the rest of the gang found themselves interested.

"This is the second day of the journey. God only knows how long it would take to get to Archangel. And who knows what will be waiting for us on the way."

"You're imploring?" Sai had a general idea where this conversation is going to lead to.

Mwu sighed. "Okay, I'll be blunt. We are horribly undermanned. There are 5 of you… and ten men can't protect you guys all the time. So, starting today, Murrue, Natarle and I are going to train in you in basic self defense and fighting techniques."

"EEEEH!?" Their reaction was quite natural.

"Y… You mean… you'll train us to become soldiers?" Kuzzey gulped.

"Yes."

"We have to… fight-kill people?" Tolle cold sweated.

"If necessary, yes."

Kira frowned. "And so, not enough you turn me into a murderer, you want to turn my friends as well?"

When Kira start speaking, Mwu understood very well. The tone was calm, but the boy was beyond furious. "Consider a scenario then."

"…"

"We were attacked from 4 directions, with ten soldiers, every man are outnumbered an overwhelming three to one. But when the number is 15, we were only outnumbered 2 to 1."

"…and we're supposed to… fight…no kill them?"

"No. Just not a victim. I want you to at least be able to stand up even for a few minutes. We have 3 seated officers in this group, so we could at least take on 5 normal soldiers each… but what if they got their own aces out as well? What if we got our hands full just to handle them? We won't be able to watch over you guys!"

"…"

"You won't have to kill." Murrue tried to calm things down. "In the case of Kira, well, we did go overboard. But we don't have any other choice."

"You won't have to fight. Just… well… defend yourself."

The gang could see some logic, though Kira is still a bit unconvinced. They looked at Kira. Sai gathered the gang around Kira and they start discussing.

"I have to admit, Kira… Mwu speak the truth… we can't rely on these men when the time comes."

"They are Advanced, Sai. Their normal strength is greater than yours, and even worse, they are fully trained to fight. I've fought them once… and I tell you… I'm an advanced myself but their strength is overwhelming." Kira could never forget the sensation he felt when the Orange Knight slammed his sword at him.

"But it's not like we have to fight them directly…"

"Look. There's this thing called rules of war. And according to that law, civilians like us are not to be harmed. If we fight, we'll be considered warriors and target for elimination. We are better off to be seen without arms."

"I wonder did they follow such rule when they start shooting at us with those cannons."

Kira blinked. 'That's right… Zaft follows the order of their emperor down to the latter. They won't give a damn about rules of war if the emperor had stated so.' "…you guys might be forced to kill people… just like… just like what I have done."

"…"

Kira looked at his friends and he was torn. A part of him realized they'll need this training. But another part of him doesn't want his friends to suffer the guilt of hurting-killing people. It felt awful, and as Mwu had stated before, it'll hound his conscious till the day he die. Physical or mental pain? "…you guys decide yourself. If you take this decision, there's no turning back. As for me…" Kira turned to Mwu. "I've made my decision."

Mwu nodded understandingly. "Then, what about you guys?"

Kira backed away from the group to let them made their own decision.

In the end, the decision was: Sai, Tolle, and even Milly stood forward. Kuzzey back away.

"I'm sorry… but… I really don't think… I can…"

"I'll take care of him." Kira hold Kuzzey's back.

The three nodded understandingly.

"Then! Let's begin the training!"

000000000000000

In a spot some distance away from the group…

A knight put his ear to the ground. Hearing. "…less than three days ahead of us. We can overtake them. We're catching up."

"Shouldn't we wait for the other Vanguard?"

"Are you kidding? There must be only, 10… 15 tops… and there are 50 of us. Why should we be afraid of those weak naturals?"

The knights agreed.

"And look at the bright side. If we did it, we might get promoted."

000000000000000

"AAAAAAAARHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Tolle scream his lungs out as Mwu pulled both of his legs backwards with a rope while the captain's legs were pressed on the boy's back.

"That's what we call taste bitter before sweet."

"Arghh… do I have to do this… stretching every time?"

"Look at the bright side, maybe by the end of this day, you'll grow taller by a few centimeters."

"Arghhh…"

Sai was told to stand firm while shouldering a pair heavy jugs filled with stone.

"In fighting, the first you must build up is stamina and fortitude. STAND FIRM!" Natarle barked as Sai gave sign of faltering just a bit.

Murrue's training of Milly, however, seems to be the only one most forgiving compared to the other two. Milly was told to do some short off… yoga stance? Anyway, she was told to stand with just her one leg for some time.

"Miriallia-san, you're a bit different. Unlike boys, us girls are blessed not with brute force, so taking attack is not exactly our thing. So, we're going to train with your flexibility."

"Okay. And call me Milly, that's what my friends call me."

"Right, Milly-san."

Kira watched calmly together with Kuzzey from the supply wagon. Kuzzey gulped as Mwu pulled Tole's leg for the nth time. "…looks tough."

"Hm." Kira nodded silently.

"…but what's with all the dancing style-"

"Not dancing style. It's stance."

"Heh?"

"…Mwu-san seems to be the type that avoids attacks and attack back. Natarle-san is teaching Sai in fortitude. That means defending. Milly was taught to… how do you say this, circulate through the attack and counter."

"Whoa! Nice observation kiddo." Mwu overheard Kira's comment. "Just a little rectification: I'm not avoiding. I'm all for offense! Attack first before you got hit! That's why I'm planning to develop your friends' speed, power, and accuracy."

Natarle sighed. "Not everyone is blessed with your stamina Mwu Taichou! In a fight, if you can prevent the enemy from attacking you, you can hit them back at your leisure. That's why stamina and defense is important!"

"No… No I don't think so. What's the point of just defending? What, you expect to tire them to death? It'll take ages! If you hit them before they hit you, not only you won't suffer any injury-"

"That is IF you can hit them before they hit you!"

"That's how my predecessor did it, that's how my soldiers do it and it works pretty well so far."

"Defense!"

"Offense!"

"Defense!"

"Offense!"

"Maa, maa! Just teach your own students your own belief. No need to throw a ruckus." Murrue cut the argument short.

The two officers still look a bit unsettled, but, like Murrue requested, they end it there.

And so the training officially begins…

"Okay… first put this on." Mwu gave Tolle a pair of makeshift arm protector.

"O… okay…"

"This is strength…" Once Mwu put the first arm protector on, the boy's arm fell down. "And this is discipline." And the other hand also slumped down, followed shortly by Tolle's whole body.

"…it… weighs… a ton…"

"25 kilos, each of it, to be exact. I carried twice as heavy when I was your age. Here, hold this." Mwu gave the boy his armguard, and Tolle fortunately draw back his hand in time, as the said item sank into the ground in a cloud of smoke, lest, it'll burry his hand along with it.

"…" Tolle gulped.

"Of course, as you can see for yourself that weight has been updated."

"…right…" the boy sweat dropped.

Sai was told to do some push up with a weight on his back. The weight? Kuzzey was told to do the honor.

"Kuzzey… H… how much you weigh?"

"Haven't count it… last time I check, it was 45 something…"

"W… when is that last time?"

"…err… a year ago."

"…!" Sai gasped.

Milly was told to practice throwing a star shaped blade. Mwu called it Shuriken. According to Murrue, it was quite easy to use, even she and Natarle (who's not shinobi like Mwu) can use it. The target is a coin hung on the side of the wagon.

"Throw it at the center of the coin. Like… this!" Murrue throw the shuriken right at the center of the coin, specifically the hole. The Shuriken stuck there. Milly gaped in awe. Murrue picked up the shuriken. "Now your turn."

"o… Okay… Ei!" Milly throw the shuriken in an obviously amateurish manner. The shuriken missed the coin and hit a frying pan. The Shuriken deflected and tossed haphazardly to the air.

"Wh… whoa!"

The shuriken landed… just a few millimeters away from Kira's groin. The victim paled. "…o… OI! Are you trying to CASTRATE ME!?"

"Hueee!?" Milly gulped.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"A… Ahh… then… let's pick a safer spot shall we?"

"O… okay… et… to…" The two looked around. But the soldiers, upon seeing the accident immediately back away.

"Errhhh… you know what…" Kira get inside the wagon and got out with a slab of wood. "We use this wood for lighting fire… you can use this for targeting. That way, if it hit, it'll stuck here."

"I see. Yosh!"

The wood was hanged on the side of the wagon, just like the coin.

Milly throw the shuriken again. "Ei!" It missed the target, as in, the tip of the shuriken didn't even touch the wood.

It hit the horse's buttock.

The very same horse that was pulling the supply wagon.

The poor animal whined in pain, and as expected, the horse run like a crazed beast, pulling the wagon with it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" Kira hold on to his dear life on the reins, but the horse showed no sign of reducing its speed.

"Oh."

"There he goes."

The soldiers just looked dumbly at the speeding wagon. Mwu was the first one to break the trance. "Oh no! This is bad! SOMEONE! CATCH THAT WAGON!"

"Huh?"

"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN YOU RETARDS!? IT'S ALMOST DINNER! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INSIDE OF THAT WAGON, BUT OUR CHEF HAS GONE WITH IT!"

The wave of realization hit all the soldiers. "CATCH THAT WAGON!"

Everyone immediately speed up in an attempt to catch up with the runaway wagon.

000000000000000

"HM?"

"What is it?"

"Those guys! They suddenly quicken their pace!"

"What?"

"And it's very fast… oh dear…now they're four days ahead of us!"

"Heee?"

"What's with the sudden spurt of speed?"

"Could it be… they know we are close?"

"Damn… those naturals… they're not bad."

"Forget dinner and let's go!"

"I suppose."

000000000000000

A few hours later, the whole caravan finally managed to catch up with the said wagon. Kira was still holding the reins, but the poor boy was clearly petrified in fear.

"Hey… are you okay kid?"

"H… h… help…"

"Sheesh… he got a jelly for a nerve…"

And thus, the caravan rested there for the night. Neuman and Kuzzey cooked a simple Mapo tofu for dinner. No noodle because the chief chef was out of commission. The next morning, the trainees found themselves unable to stand. The muscle pain coming from yesterday's running and chasing Kira's caravan exploded. Tolle got the worse pain of them all because he was using weight. The morning passes by and they were told not to do strenuous training. By lunch, their muscle pain diminished a little and thus allowing them to continue with their training. Mwu deemed Tolle ready to begin training on Taijutsu, Murrue began explaining to Milly some simple movement, and Sai was told to do some basic punching moves several hundred times, much to his chagrin. All this was done with Kira continuously watching.

The routine becomes quite repetitiously simple: Train, lunch (they skipped breakfast to save up their provision), train, dinner, train, sleep, wake up, train, and so forth. And, in a blink of an eye, it's the fourth day since the training routine applied. By this time, Kira's friends had all began to get used to the training sequence.

Later that evening…

The caravan decided to rest near a bamboo forest. Normally, they would be training, but Tolle and the others are quite beat up, thanks to the additional weight Mwu had given them. So they called an early break.

"Hyaaa… But our students are getting pretty well aren't they?"

"Well, yes. Milly was quite a diligent one." Murrue agreed.

"I still need to drill Sai a bit more. But he doesn't complain. What of that boy Tolle?"

"Heh. That kid. He's got a creative brain alright. But he's still so and so… comparatively speaking." Mwu smirked.

"I suppose we can say that all is well with our respective students."

"Actually…" Mwu began. "There's one kid I'm still wondering."

"I thought you said not to go there?" Natarle frowned.

"Think about it. That kid has been working, living under the same roof with Paul. The kid is our senpai's protégé. Who knows? I wouldn't be surprised if Paul taught him some of his tricks?"

"Beats me… You see the look on his face during the wagon accident 4 days ago? Poor boy." Murrue sighed.

"I won't forget." Mwu looked at the direction of the supply wagon. 'But still… I can't help wondering…'

Meanwhile, in the supply wagon…

"Kira! Where are you going?"

"Well, we're near a bamboo forest. Let's just see if I can find some bamboo sprouts for dinner. I brought Torii with me so I won't get lost."

"Okay." Sai nodded.

Neuman, bewildered, asked Tolle. "What's with the birdie?"

"Kira's a guy with the worst sense of direction. If it weren't for that bird, he'll always get lost."

"O… okay…"

Kira walked quietly and look around the bamboo forest. Kira took his time traversing through the bamboo forest, he had managed to gather a bagful of bamboo sprouts, and some wild mushrooms to boot. 'Lucky to find shiitake here… oops… look at the time! I always get lost, might as well try to return early…' "Okay… time to go back…"

Much to his surprise, it took him only 5 minutes to go back to the group, and his sixth sense kicks in again. '…I got a bad feeling about this… something's bad seems going to happen…'

"Yo, Kira! What did you find?"

"Some bamboo shoots… mushroom… and speaking for myself… I smell trouble."

"Trouble? How would you know?"

"…gut feeling."

000000000000000

Not far from there…

"Well, well… we finally catch up with them."

"How many?"

"…they got 10 soldiers… and 5 civilians?"

"5 Civilians?"

"Yeah. 3 on that medical ward, 2 watch over the supply wagon."

"I see… our target is the supply wagon."

"Why bother with strategy? Let's just charge in and kill everyone."

"I'd love to do that… but we got three seated officers standing guard. I don't care about the other two women, but that guy, Mwu la Flagga… he's the big problem."

"Heard he fought Lord Raww to a standstill?"

"He's the first guy in this war that managed to draw first blood from him."

"Okay… so… the target is the supply wagon?"

"Yep. How are we going to do that?"

"Easy does the trick. We wait until the majority of them sleeps, and prepare some fire. We'll torch it!"

000000000000000

"You're sure? He did say that?"

"Yes… I… I know it sounds ridiculous… but… when I look on his eyes… I think he meant it." Neuman reported

"…you said he left for the bamboo forest… when did he return?"

"…about a short one hour after he left. Why?"

Mwu's eyes widened. "Ready our things we're packing up!"

"EH?"

"It happened in Amaterasu and I tell you it's beyond coincidence. KID!"

"Mwu-san?" Kira turned.

"Listen… the food in the supply wagon… can you pssts… psstss…"

Kira nodded. "Okay." He turned to his friends. "Guys! Help me with this!"

Mwu nodded. "Yosh! Soldiers! ON YOUR FEET!"

Mwu's men gasped at the rude wake up call.

000000000000000

"Gah!?"

"What? What?"

"They're moving again!?"

"Almost as if they know we're going to attack them!"

000000000000000

"Yosh… this should do it." Tolle smiled satisfyingly.

"Okay…" Kira nodded. He looked at Mwu. The said captain had also finished rigging his wagon. Kira approach him. "Mwu-san."

"Yo, kid!"

"…are you sure… it's just my feeling you know. You want to make decision based on some paranoia of a kid like me?"

"Remember that morning when the Murrue, Natarle and I tried to get through the gate in that bizarre plan of ours? You came early. And then look at what happened. It failed miserably. I'm not a great believer in coincidence."

"Somehow, I'm beginning to think I'll be acting as a warning alarm."

"Ha, ha, ha!" Mwu messes Kira's already messy hair. "Don't worry. Multitasking ain't so bad."

"…"

"Yosh! Let's go!"

The whole squad began marching.

Meanwhile, the Zaft knights that followed them groaned in frustration. "At this rate, we might gonna lose them!"

"So what now?"

"Screw the strategy. Fire the arrows now! Shoot it on all of them! And then we charge!"

"Gotcha. Ready… Aim…"

Several knights readied their arrows.

"Fire!"

And the flaming arrows fly away. Several dozen landed on the supply wagons. Turning it ablaze soon after.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Neuman roared.

Kira immediately cut off the horses' reins and jumped away from his burning wagon and crawl beneath it.

A few arrows headed to Mwu's wagon, but the captain immediately throw some shuriken and cut the arrows midair. "BATTLE STATION!"

The soldiers pulled out their katana, just as a whole battalion of Zaft Knights charged out of the woods. "CHAAARGE!"

And all hell broke loose. Mwu's men however, were obviously outnumbered 3 to 1. Most of the troops focus their attention on Mwu, Murrue and Natarle. Mwu seemingly managed to hodl his own pretty well against 5 knights all at once. Murrue, brandishing her spear was parrying a knight's sword as Natarle used twin short katana to slit one of the knights' throats. Sai, Tolle and Milly remain in their post and await their chance. Kuzzey cowered in fear underneath the blazing wagon, whereas Kira began untying the sacks of beans and flours from underneath the wagon.

Mwu's prediction was correct: they were targeting the supply wagon first. In the last second, Mwu ordered that all the supplies are to be removed from the wagon and divided into three and tied underneath all three wagons. "Kuzzey! A little help would be nice!"

"WHUAAAA!" Alas, the boy was too scared to help. Kuzzey had gone panic when one of the Alliance soldiers got stabbed by 3 swords on his back. Just then, one of the knights charged at them. Kira had just finished unfasten the last sack when the fire break through. 'Just in time…' "Sai! Get Kuzzey out of here!"

"Okay!" Sai grabbed Kuzzey's leg and pulled the scared boy away from the blazing wagon. Kira soon followed, carrying a few sacks of supplies on his back and slither out. As they saw the battle unfolds, they realize what Mwu said was true; the alliance soldiers are simply outnumbered. Just then, a soldier managed to run his katana through a knight's throat. But no sooner than that, a knight stabbed him on his spinal cord, killing him instantly. Neuman managed to hold on his own, but he was clearly overrun.

"We have to move away from here." Kira instructed. "The first wagon! Go, go, go!"

The gang ran through the battlefield. Mwu managed to slice two knights in a row just as one of his soldiers got struck on his knee. Before the knights can perform the coup de grace though, Murrue stabbed the knight, piercing his armor with her spear. Murrue throw her daggers at two knights and unravel another weapon: a morning star. This frighten some of the charging knights and sent them running. Natarle focused her attention on other knights, bashing one of the enemies' head soon after. The soldiers, seeing their superiors performed quite well against the seemingly impossible odds, inspired to fight harder, making it a little more difficult for the knights to finish them off.

The gang managed to stay away from the fight for some time. But Tolle was somewhat hesitant. "W… we have to help them!"

"No, we won't." Kira answered immediately.

"But…!"

"What can you do? You've just learned about basic punching and kicking for a few days! And you want to fight a professional soldier?"

"I…"

"Kira's right." Sai nodded. "…there's nothing we can do at this point. We'll fight bravely… but we'll die quickly. The only thing we can do now… is to wait and sit this one out… and hope for the best."

Tolle still looked unconvinced. He turned his head away, until he took a glimpse of Kira's arm. The boy's hand had balled into a fist, and it was trembling. Upon seeing that, Tolle sighed and stayed. And thus, the gang cowered at the corner, waiting for the outcome of the battle.

Unfortunately however, they weren't aware that one of the knights is sneaking right behind them.

Meanwhile, Mwu killed another knights and looked around. There's still so many of them. He turned his head wildly, searching for something… anything he can use to turn the situation around. Then he caught sight of the blazing wagon. '…hey… I can use that…' Secretly, Mwu gathered a dozen kunais and shurikens and put in a bundle filled with gunpowder and explosive tag. Before the Captain can proceed with whatever he had in mind however…

"Hey what the-MMPH!" Milly haven't even got the chance when a pair of strong arms pulled her away.

"H… HEY!" Tolle roared.

Kira and Sai instantly charged at the knight, but the knight swat them, and for the first time, Sai found truth in what Kira said about these knights. With just one hand, the knight smashed Kira and sent him flying towards him. Sai landed with a thud and Kira got tossed to the bushes.

"ALRIGHT! NOBODY MOVES!"

The battle halted. Everyone turned their eyes towards the gang. Milly was struggling as one of the knights hold her by the chokehold. "No more funny business!"

"Why you…"

"Shut up! You! Naturals! Put down your weapons!"

Mwu hesitated.

Milly however, exchanged looks with Murrue. The elder woman understood. Murrue gave an eyewink at Mwu. The said captain caught the sign.

And it happened in an instant. Instead of dropping her weapon, Murrue throw a shuriken which scratched the Milly's leg, just a little, but it's enough to force her to drop down, weighing her captor just enough to make him open his defense. Before the knight can react Mwu appeared right in front of him and embedded a short katana through his eye and all the way to his brain, killing him instantly. The knights blinked. They didn't even see the Captain moved! Still bewildered at what happened, Mwu immediately throw his bag at the blazing wagon. "DUCK!!"

Everyone, safe the knights, ducked in time. The moment the bag was consumed by fire; it explodes, sending hordes of kunai and shuriken to every direction. Knights who didn't manage to evade in time were impaled by a hail of shurikens and kunais, and they were killed instantly. Some of the knights that survived immediately charged at the nearest opponent in their vicinity.

Kira rise up from the bushes and looked at the battlefield. The victor has yet to be decided but the condition has been evened out. Just then, he heard several hustles and rustle from his side. Several knights that survived the explosion walked out slowly from the woods, and, much to his horror, they intend to charge in on his friends again. 'I have to distract them…'

Kira looked around and found a pebble. He took it and throws it squarely on one of the knight's head. The knights were alerted to his presence, and angrily went to his direction. Kira, both glad and terrified that he caught their attention, ran to the bamboo forest and the knights followed.

The remaining knights however, suddenly find themselves at a disadvantage. That explosion took the majority of their numbers. Now, there are only a few of them left. In normal situation, this is a breather for them. But having three seated officers as your enemy is not a normal situation.

"Well then." Mwu cracked his knuckles. His blue eyes sparkling with cold fiery fury. "Trying to kill us, burning one of our wagons… this I can forgive. But no one messes with my boys and girl."

The knights gulped.

"You lot, stand down." Mwu's men followed their captain's orders and put down their weapons.

"You guys are so busted." One of the Mwu's men chuckled. Oh, nothing's worse than a pissed off captain.

The knights were unnerved even more.

"I suppose I'll show you then." Mwu readied his Kodachi. "The reason of why I was nicknamed Eagle."

The knights' eyes turned wide.

000000000000000

Meanwhile, Kira was running as fast as he can through the bamboo forest. There are 5 knights chasing him and boy, weren't they fast! He looked around for anything he can use. Just as the knights were so close on his back, his hand grabbed a bundle of three bamboo trees and pulled it, before letting it go. The bamboos lashed out and hit one of the knights flat out on the head. The knight that receives the first hit got knocked backwards and the back of his helmet smashed the other knight's head, knocking him unconscious. One down.

"Whoa!"

During the commotion, Kira managed to disappear into the thick bamboo forest. The boy looked around and saw a thick bamboo staff. He took it. 'I could use this… for now.'

Just then, the sound of cutting and rustling came from behind him. The angry knights began cutting the bamboos around them furiously. One of them spotted him and gave chase. Kira quickly ran off. The two finally ended up facing a cliff.

"You got nowhere to run, natural."

"I don't understand you people. Does the word 'rule of war' never actually come across your mind?"

"What are you blathering about? You attacked us first!"

"Yes. But you were trying to hurt my friends first, of which by the way, are all civilians!"

"They're just a bunch of naturals! Hell, just killing a few of them won't be enough! There's still a million of them out there!"

"You…!" Words fail him. Kira glared at the knight.

"Well, it won't matter to you pretty soon anyway. DIE!" The knight charged at him, attempting a stab. Kira instinctively blocked the stab with the bamboo. The blade went through, yet it narrowly missed him. Interlocking the blade in the bamboo, Kira spun it around. The Knight let go of his spinning sword and due to the power of his lunge, he lost balance. Kira's leg accidentally tripped him, and the knight got his head smashed to the cliff, knocking him unconscious.

'Two down… three to go.' Kira grabbed the sword off the bamboo. The sword was quite heavy and quite difficult to carry. Kira had to hold the sword with both hands.

"Hey! I heard noises over there!"

Kira quickly ran to the other side of the bamboo forest. The knights cut their way in soon after. "Whoa… he got this one too… not bad for a natural. Where is he?"

"Hmm…"

The sound of bamboo rustling alarmed them. "Over there." Two knights charged in, but one stayed. Apparently he had something in mind.

Meanwhile, the knights furiously cut every bamboo on their way. Kira, watching the knights' antics, began cutting select bamboo trees in a similar fashion with the knights. The knights can only hear cutting and rustling. They circle around and around, finding a batch of cut bamboo trees. Thinking they've been to the place, they look to another spot, without realizing they're getting deeper and deeper. Realizing his plan began to work, Kira cut a few more bamboos and then stopped. The sudden silence unnerved the two knights.

"Don't tell me we're lost!"

"Spread out. We'll find that brat quicker this way."

"Okay."

The two knights spread out. Kira had a little victory dance at the back of his mind. Fighting two of them is suicide, but one on one… well at least he had proven to himself that he had a slight chance to survive.

The knight was look around the bamboo forest and found himself confused. Everywhere look the same to him. Bamboo trees everywhere. Just then his eye caught sight of Kira's foot, running into the bushels of bamboos. "Come here you!" The Knight ran towards the spot in an instant, only to be welcomed by another lashing batch of bamboos. "Same tricks won't work twice!" With relative ease, the knight cut the bamboos. Suddenly Kira burst out the bamboo trees right behind the knight. Caught by surprise, the knight didn't have time to block the incoming attack. Kira stabbed the knight. His target was his thigh, but Kira clumsy stab missed its target… and it went straight through the knight's sorry ass' hole (literally).

"…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!"

Three out of five.

The scream can be heard even outside the forest. The other knight was greatly alarmed. 'That voice… that's one more down!' Panic now ran amok in his mind. 'Who the fuck is this guy!? He took down three of our men!? Civilian my ass!' He ran aimlessly, cutting every bamboo in his way. When he cut the next batch of bamboos, he found Kira, also panicking. The knight roared and starts giving chase, swinging his sword wildly. Kira ran as quickly as possible. All the while, the boy began brewing a new plan in his head.

Kira began cutting bamboos left and right. The falling bamboos did little to hold the knight though, as he cut all the bamboos to smaller pieces, but it limit his range of sight considerably. Once he cut enough bamboos, Kira suddenly ran to a lone bamboo tree, step on it, and utilizing the bamboo's elasticity, catapulted himself at the knight. Not expecting the sudden counter attack and too busy cutting up falling bamboos the knight blocked it with his arm. The attack unfortunately only managed to scratch his diamond hard gauntlet. The knight turned towards Kira, who was lying on the ground. The boy immediately turned around and saw his opponent attempted to slash him. And as the blade came down, Kira rolled to the side in the last second, and before the knight could pull the sword back, Kira slammed his sword on it, sinking the blade to the ground, and there it stuck. Before the knight could react, Kira grabbed a bamboo and smashed it as hard as he could on the opponent's head. The bamboo shattered but unfortunately, it did very little to no damage at all.

"Heh. Out of ideas, smart ass?" The knight grinned behind his helmet. Kira quickly grabbed his own sword and smash it on the knight's head. Lack of experience and lack of strength, the attack didn't even go through the said target. But it was hard enough to shook the helmet, and the loud CLANG resulted from metal meet metal reverberated through the inside of the helmet. The knight was obviously fazed by the noise and instinctively removed his helmet. Still half deaf, Kira smacked a second bamboo on the man's head, this time knocking him unconscious for good.

"Pant… pant… pant… stay there!" Kira gasped as he fell to the ground. There's still one more knight out there and quite frankly, he's beginning to run out of ideas. Suddenly he heard clapping from his back. Kira quickly turned around and saw, much to his horror, the last knight.

The knight was clapping, as if congratulating him. "Impressive. That was some nice move, young man."

"W…what?"

"Good use of terrain, surprise attacks, spontaneous decision making… very resourceful… I haven't seen an Advanced fight like that in years."

"I'm… you know who I am?"

"I've been around quite a while kid. You pick things up."

This knight's voice seems to be quite elderly. Quite unlike some other knights rash behavior. What's more, this knight did not carry the standard bastard sword that others carry. Instead, much to Kira's surprise, the knight carries a Katana and a Wakizashi. And thus, Kira deduces this man is the leader of the group. "…so what are you going to do to me now?"

"I've thought of a few alternatives… but I think I'll just ask why are you sticking with those Naturals?"

"They are my friend. And above all, you guys destroyed my home, did you not!?"

The knight nodded. "You're…"

"Orb's citizen. Inside out."

"I did hear that Uzumi Nara Attha allowed both Advanced and Natural in his country and treat them equally. I thought it was just empty words. I guess I was wrong."

"Not every Natural is that bad. And people like you and your men are the reason why Advanced like me became scapegoats of the Naturals!"

"Hmph. I can stay here and give you a little lecture, and I can guarantee once I'm done, you'll see things my way."

"After hostage taking, attempted assault on my friends, and the hell I went through? I don't think so."

"I suppose." The knight stood up. Kira also tried to stand up, but found his legs fails him.

"Relax. I'm not going to kill you. Unlike some of my men, I'm well aware of Rules of War kid." The knight walked past him, grabbed his fallen comrade and prepares to leave. "…I'll give you a piece of advice then. I would not say more about your civilian friends. But be careful with your 'friends' from the Alliance."

"Them?"

"Yes. They are soldiers. In spite of everything you may have done for them, one day an order will come to them to turn against you. The prejudices against our kind are that much stronger at the Alliance's higher chain of command. And those bastards of officers tend to bring those prejudices when passing on judgment."

"I don't know if I can call them my friends though… our relationship is… I don't know… mutually beneficial."

"Ha. Very good. At least I know you watch your back. Then if you'll excuse me…" The knight nodded a farewell. But before he can leave, Kira remembered one question he had been wondering.

"One last question?"

"Yes?"

"Do… do you know one of your knights… named… Athrun Zala?"

"Athrun Zala? Of course I am. The Zala family golden boy, Raww's top protégé, and an advisor at his age. Currently he's the hottest topic to talk about."

"What happened to him?"

"He was… scheduled to be court-martialed for insubordination in his most recent mission. You know anything about it?"

"I… no… at least… I know nothing that could help him."

"I see. Well then. Ja ne." The knight walked away. Leaving Kira alone to his thoughts.

000000000000000

Back to the caravan…

Only two knights remain standing. The other 8 were disemboweled, beheaded, or stabbed to bamboo trees. Mwu was nowhere in sight, and his men also dare not to move. Kira's gang was literally engrossed by the scene. In just a short 10 minutes, 8 out of 10 knights were butchered, and none of them understood how. The knights were clearly panicking. They stick together, back to back, waiting for the eagle to strike again. Just then, a large black shuriken fly right at them. One of the knights quickly smashed the shuriken away… only to find another identical pitch black shuriken, hidden in the shuriken's shadow, embedded on his chest. The man dropped dead soon after.

The last knight gasps and pants. He wildly look around, looking for his opponent. "COWARD! SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Oh, but I'm right here… All around you…" Mwu's voice echoed throughout the forest, terrorizing the knight even further. The knight saw a flash of yellow at the corner of his eye and turned to the said direction… only to find a kodachi pointed on his neck.

"You call me a coward just now… yet you attack unarmed civilians…?"

"…in the Zaft academy, we were taught… that in this war, there has been only one man able to fight the strongest of the Hakutenkun, Lord Raww le Klueze, to an even ground… they say you… fought in Fort Endiminion… you single handedly destroyed the invading army… they say… rather than running or moving… they describe it that… you were flying… like an eagle attacking its pray… now I understand what they meant." The knight knew now his fate is sealed.

"Ja ne." Mwu mercilessly beheaded the knight. The headless warrior fell silent to the ground.

Silence. The battle is over.

"…clean up this mess… bury the dead." Mwu sheathed his small katana as his men do as they were told. They have three fatalities. Mwu observed the area and rested his eye on Kira's gang.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, we're fine." Sai answered.

"Good." Mwu nodded. He looked at them and noticed someone's missing. "…where's Kira?"

The gang finally realized that the said brunette was gone. "Kira?"

"I think he got thrown off to the bushes. Over there."

They searched the surrounding area. "Where is he?"

"Could it be that…Kira ran into the forest… and… he got lost?"

Everyone sweat-dropped at the possibility. "Wait… where's… Torii?"

As if responding to their call, the green bird chirped and landed on Mwu's shoulder. "Oh no…"

"Without that bird, Kira will be lost… Torii! Go find Kira!" Sai nodded at Torii.

The bird chirped once and flies away.

"Now we just have to wait." Tolle sighed.

Mwu chuckled. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Torii's the smartest bird this side of the earth. If he can't find him… then nothing will."

An hour later, Torii's back… with a bushed out Kira.

"…I ran into the forest… and… well…"

"Got lost." The gang finished up for him.

"One thing for sure though Kid." Mwu slapped Kira's back. "At least, since you're late, we know that there won't be any more unwanted surprises."

"Ah."

000000000000000

000000000000000
000000000000000

And done!

For some of you that notice: this chapter saw the first application of Kakashi's infamous Ancient Konoha Taijutsu Ultimate Ougi: Thousand Years of Pain.

Till the next chapter.

Ja ne.