NOTE:

"Doryaaaaaaaaaa!": normal talking

"Charge!": special case

'Darn!': thoughts

GWA HA HA HA! : Giant creature speech

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

Please… read and review

Chapter 7:

Something Within

"There they are." Yzak looked down on the surprised soldiers down below. And then he turned his gaze to a tree, and there he saw it: Mwu la Flagga and the mysterious Ninja just put on his disguise. "There, master. He changed his clothes again."

"Yes. Very well… let's see how you fare against him."

"Archers! TAKE AIM!!"

Hundreds of knights simultaneously take out an arrow, and aimed their bow.

"FIRE!"

Hundreds of arrows rained upon them.

Mwu roared: "TO THE FOREST!"

Everyone break ranks and start running towards the forest. The arrow rained on and on, one after another. Another few of Mwu's men were showered by the arrows. But some had reached relative safety, away from the range of the archers. But Dearka has something else to give.

"ROCK ON, you morons!" He aimed his cannon on the ground in front of him and fired. The explosion resulted in a landslide, sending rocks and piles of dirt towards the running soldiers. Natarle grunted. She made a few handseals and: "Doton: Doryuuheki!" She grabbed a handful of earth, putting it in her mouth for a second and then slamming it back down. A mass of stones and dirt arise before her, creating a crude earthen wall, temporarily blocking the landslide, protecting the crew.

Dearka blinked. "What the… they have their own earth warriors?"

"In any case, they've entered the forest. And the Archangel Fortress lies just after it. Prepare to give chase!" Yzak yelled another order.

"Yzak."

"Yes my lord?" The boy bowed to his master.

"I will leave you with 2500 good men… I will bring the rest with me to rendezvous with the Carpentaria fleet."

Yzak, understanding his master's intention, frowned regardless. "My lord… it'll take weeks for the fleet to assemble!"

"That's odd. Two weeks ago I was still in Gamoff and I heard the word that not only the Carpentaria fleet had already been assembled and mobilized, they've also had fortified their position in the Pacific Ocean, blocking any ship that attempt to enter Archangel's dock. Some were had even start bombarding the base."

The boy response was a rather dumb "Oh."

"Apparently someone had foreseen that the enemy will attempt to enter the Archangel. Quite a strategist. Then, I'll be on my way. Good hunting." The knight ride away with his army, leaving Yzak a portion.

"Will do, my lord, will do…" Yzak sighed. But inside, he was fuming. 'That Athrun…' "OUR ENEMY HAS ESCAPED INTO THE FOREST! We will find them even if we have to cut the whole place! CHARGE!"

And the whole army charged down the hill. Dearka readied his cannon again and fired at the earthen wall. The wall was destroyed in one go. "Well… they're not so tough."

The knights immediately spread out in groups of 100 men, searching the whole forest.

Meanwhile, the group has been separated due to the surprise attack.

Murrue, Milly, Tolle, Kuzzey and Sai were stuck in one group.

Neuman, Jackie, a handful of soldiers, and Natarle is another group.

And finally, Mwu and Kira were running through the forest together. Once they reached the safe distance, the two stopped for a moment to catch their breath. "That was… dangerous… really dangerous…"

"Oh no… where's Sai, Kuzzey and the others?"

"Chill kid… last time I saw them, they were with Murrue. They should be okay."

"Oh… Good…" Kira sigh a relief. "Still… who… was… that?"

"The guy with the antler horn?"

"Yeah."

"That was Hakutenkun Goud Veia."

"Hakutenkun?"

"You knew?"

"Heard of it. Said they were the most powerful warrior in the Zaft Empire."

"Let me explain. Their ranking system is different than ours. Those knights you saw… the lot of them knights wearing green armor? They're Zaft's regular army, the Emerald Knights. The knights you saw before, the two incredibly powerful knights we fight? They were the Elemental Knights. They are a level above those emerald knights."

"And the Hakutenkun? What are they? Their… their version of Captains?"

"Not quite. Their authorities are only second to the Emperor in terms of military. But their strength are said to be near godlike. Never face them when you're alone. In 70 years not one Alliance soldier has ever won in single combat against a Hakutenkun."

"But you fought with one before! That… that masked man guy…"

"He was a different case. He was a relatively new addition to the Hakutenkun. But Goud Veia is one heck of a headache I'd rather not have without proper preparation, given our situation."

"Why?"

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"He was nicknamed the Legendary Hero of Zaft." Murrue explained to the panting boys and girl. "Once said, when he was younger, he single handedly destroyed the alliance First Navy fleet. They say they stabbed him with a hundred arrows on his chest, and yet he still managed to drown 7 warships and behead the commanding Captain."

"Simply put, he's an ancient extremely powerful and experienced old warrior." Tolle concluded.

"It's no surprise that an Advanced has a longer lifespan than Naturals." Sai added.

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"His domain is the aquatic fortress Gamoff. What the hell is he doing here?" Jackie gulped.

"Maybe some of their soldiers were killed in that battle in Amaterasu." Natarle frowned.

"The question now is…" Neuman panted.

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"…how do we…" Milly wondered.

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"…get out of this mess?" Kira grunted behind his Kage mask.

Mwu gave a long sigh. Just then, his ears caught a noise. He grabbed a shuriken and threw it squarely on a knight's head. "For now, defend yourself!"

Kage prepared himself as more and more knights came swarming upon them. "I don't know if I can do this…"

"You can! Just remember what you've trained!"

"During training, I'm not outnumbered 50 to 1."

"Fight to run!"

"Oh hell…" Kage jumped away as a knight tried to stab him. He landed a knee on the knight's neck. But such an act made him lost his balance. Two knights came charging at him, seizing the chance. Before they can get him though, two kunai smashed to the side of their heads.

"DON'T BE CARELESS! You wanna die kid?"

"Kuso!"

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"ORYAAAAAAAAA!" Tolle managed to kick a knight squarely on his neck. One down, many more to go.

Murrue slashed several knights on the throat before stabbed her spear on another knight that was charging her way. The said victim was still squirming on her spear when she saw that Kuzzey was about to be attacked by another group of knights. She immediately tossed the knight towards the group. She quickly jumped in front of Kuzzey and grabbed the boy's back, helping him to stand. "Kuzzey! Run!"

She fended off another group of knight while she does so.

Sai parried several attacks and disarm some of their opponents. While she left the finishing to Tolle and Murrue, Sai tossed the weapons he had taken from the enemy to Milly, ensuring a continuous supply of throwing weapons on her part.

Milly was doing much better with Sai helping her. She used a kunai to fend off some of the knights by stabbing them on the chinks of their armor. It didn't stop them, but it weakens them, allowing either Murrue or Tolle, the main attackers, to finish them off. When she suddenly faced a giant of a knight, she wondered for a moment where to attack, and then she saw one open spot. "HAIYAA!" She stabbed right on that spot.

The giant knight groaned… before jumping up and down like a madman… holding his bleeding groin. The knights became unnerved at the sight. Their hesitation allows Murrue to finish them off.

Just as the Captain stabbed another knight dead, she saw more and more knights were coming… hundreds of them. "This will never end… RUN!" Murrue tossed a smoke pellet at the group of knight, covering their escape.

The group immediately retreated even deeper into the forest.

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Natarle was doing much better given their odds weren't as impossible as the other two groups. She disarmed two knights, and used their swords to stab them and then fight with both swords. She quickly killed several knights threatening her team.

The soldiers also fought bravely. But outnumbered and outmatched, another dies. "Lieutenant! At this rate, we'll…"

"I know! Everyone! Retreat to the forest!" Natarle stabbed a knight through his head before ran off.

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"ORYAAAAAAAA!" Kage throw a flock of shuriken at a bunch of knight. It barely left a single cosmetic damage.

"Don't waste your weapons!" Mwu yelled as he beheads another knight. Forget about their odds, he alone was more than enough match for those knights, and with Kage's help, he didn't have much difficulty.

"I know… geeze… they're tough."

"Regular army…Hm?" Mwu gasped. They were almost finished with this group, but another group is coming. "This is bad… Run kid!" Mwu dropped a smoke pellets and immediately escaped.

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Evening…

"Apparently some of the knights had found them." Shiho reported.

"Of course! We separated our army to 25 groups… I want them captured!" Yzak growled.

"Hey, Yzak… night's coming." Dearka took note of the dimming light.

"I don't care! Keep searching!"

"Best not do that. Mwu la Flagga is very crafty. If we insist to search him at night, he might choose to use that chance to create another chaos like what he did the other day." Nichol reminded the silver haired boy.

"I KNOW! But if we didn't do this, how are we supposed find them? How can we be sure that they don't escape while we quit?" Yzak was furious. "We need a task force… is there any of our man that can do something at night?"

"Errhh… no I don't think so." Dearka tried to remember.

"2500 men, all useless?"

Shiho suddenly cuts in. "Maybe there's something I can do."

"Hm? Shiho?"

"If we use my Kekkei Genkai, we might still be able to do something."

"And what is your Kekkei Genkai?"

Shiho closed her eyes, and then reopened them: her pupil turned bright luminescent crystal blue. It shines in the darkness of the night. "Liquid Vision. I can see based on the water inside them. It's not bothered by the light of the day… so I can go on at night."

Dearka nodded. "Simply put, you can see water inside everything? Even at night?"

"Yes. 2/3 of human body composed of water. That set them apart with other creatures like animals or trees… so I can differentiate them."

Yzak nodded. "Okay. That's fine. Shiho, lead a task f… or no… on second thought…"

In the end, Shiho lead the group composed of Yzak, Dearka, Nichol, and a handful of soldiers.

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Kira and Mwu were resting underneath a tree.

"I can't believe I did all those things while wearing this…" Kira looked at his weight jacket. It was when they sit down to rest did Kira realized just how heavy his clothing are.

"Trust me, one day you'll thank me for it."

"Right."

"Oi, Kid… something I wanna tell you… I saw your fight today. It was pretty good… but listen… you need to do more than just disarming or knocking them unconscious."

"What, you want me to kill them?"

"It's war kid. If you don't kill them, they'll kill you! The soldiers from Gamoff have a reputation: they are merciless bastards. Even their own countrymen frowned upon them. They start giving those nicknames like… Bloody Sea Gamoff… Demon Nest Gamoff… They will kill you, Kid. Your friends too. You better steel yourself. You may have to kill to get the job done."

"…and I thought you told me I don't have to get used to killing…"

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you I don't want you to do this?"

"Well…"

"Then feel better!" Mwu half yelled. "I… I'm worried about you Kira… you beat them unconscious fine. But that leniency may cost you your life one day. Some of these guys are not about honor or pride. If they can fight dirty, they will… Hell you see it yourself, they would even take hostage!"

Kira looked at Shiki. So… he had to draw that sword to kill again?

"Right now… your strongest weapon… is that Katana. Those Elemental Knights… they carried three secret weapons… you'll need it… if you want to survive against them."

"Right."

"But… relying on just weapon won't be enough. Okay…Kid, listen! I'm going to teach you some of my jutsus. We may only get one night to cram the basics into your head. So watch closely."

"O… Okay!"

Suddenly however, their stomach growled. "But first…"

"I'll gather some wood." Kira concluded.

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"Aren't we going to run?"

"If we run, we risk running into them. Don't worry. Unless they have someone who can see in the dark, we're quite safe for now." Murrue tried to calm down the trembling Kuzzey.

"Now what should we do?"

"We have to be self sufficient." The eldest woman stated the obvious. We don't have any provisions left. But we're in the forest, so we have to fend for ourselves. Look. We're lucky to have stopped near a pond… and look! There are plenty of fishes!"

"Hey… you're right!"

"I'll collect some wood for fire. You guys stay here and catch some fish."

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"Aw, damn… I miss the boy's cooking already." One of the soldiers moaned as he took another bite at some fruit they managed to find.

"Don't WHINE! Real soldiers should be able to live on raw materials alone!" Natarle grumbled. Feed them proper food for a while and they became wimp all the sudden. 'I can't blame them though… that boy had talent in cooking.'

"It's alright we eat uncooked meal once in a while." Neuman chuckled.

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"This is our dinner." Mwu stabbed their dinner on a spit.

"…a lizard?"

"Yeah. Never ate them before?"

"No. But are you sure they're not poisonous?"

"Well I'm sure it's a change from the usual stuff you eat-"

"No, no… I mean… I've eaten snakes, frogs and bats before, but… never lizard. So I don't know how they taste. And I do hear some of them are poisonous."

Mwu looked at Kira for a second. "…for you, it'll taste like chicken." He gave him a wink.

Within minutes, the roast lizard is ready. Mwu handed it to the hungry Kira who immediately took a bite at it.

"Well?"

"…not bad… a pinch of salt would be nice too."

"Desshou?" Mwu laughed.

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"Still I wonder… what exactly did Kira and Mwu discussing about, back in that tree?" Tolle took another bite of his roast fish.

"Beats me." Milly turned her fish around again. "But… given all that chaos, I'm sure Mwu-san kept Kira safe."

"Definitely." Murrue sighed. "Though… seriously… that man is quite reckless."

"Reckless enough o forget about a civilian boy?" Sai frowned.

"No. I knew him. That man can jump off a cliff with no safety, ride head first to face a rain of arrows for the fun of it. But he'll drop all that to safe his friends. That's the kind of person he is. I'm sure he'll take care of Kira-kun."

"They call him… Eagle of Endiminion. What's with the names? Iron Wall Harlbarton, and there's this… guy I remembered called Ed the Ripper…" Tolle shivered at the last name.

"They're Zaft tactics. They gave them names, to scare the public. Making them look scarier than they should be. Though, yes. I have to admit. In battle they are scary. But… in everyday life…Edward Harrelson… or simply Ed… is a… ladies' man down to the core. Captain Harlbarton is a good soldier and a good father to his family. All those exaggeration is just to inspire and scare their soldiers."

"I see…"

Just then, distant explosion can be heard echoing in the forest.

"What… was that?"

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Natarle's group…

One of her men was blasted to bits by Dearka's cannon.

"Kuso!" Natarle grabbed a sword and stuck it on a knight's head that suddenly appeared. "Don't fight them! Retreat!"

The soldiers immediately left their half eaten dinner and ran for their lives, deeper and deeper into the forest. One of the soldiers was unfortunate enough to be at the mercy of the angry Water Knight, Yzak. Weirdly enough, the soldier smashed his weapon against Yzak trident sword and run, but the knight did not give chase. Instead, the knight turned and left with a scoff.

"Well, Yzak-sama?" Shiho nervously asked her fuming senior.

Yzak answered with a furious shook on his head. "All I found is that lieutenant bitch and some alliance soldiers not worth my wile."

"Eh?" Shiho blinked. Not understanding.

"Look again!"

"B… but… I don't understand… I thought…"

"Yzak, you're looking for him, aren't you?" Dearka chuckled.

"Nichol! You go and find a squad and then continue the pursuit. We will derive them off sleeping." The silver haired made an attempt to whisper amidst his fuming temper. He almost failed.

"Okay." The Wood Knight disappeared.

"Shiho! Didn't you hear what I said? Look again! I have to find that bastard ninja!"

"H… Hai!" The lady knight nodded.

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Mwu was explaining the basic of Goukyaku no Jutsu to Kira when the explosion alerted them both as well. "Mwu-san… that's…"

"I've heard that kid shot that thing so many times, I've memorized it by now."

"Looks like they got someone who can see in the dark after all…" Kira quickly adorned his Kage mask.

"So it seems."

"What should we do?"

"…first priority: rendezvous with the rest… sit down, we're not going anywhere this dark. Unless you say that you can see in the dark."

"But…"

"It's useless to run rampant at night. We have bigger chance of getting lost and killed this way."

"So what should we do? We can't just sit and wait to be killed."

"I know… Help me with this… I got an idea. We're gonna set up a spot of trick… and after that, I'm going to teach you something nifty."

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The night passed…

"Yzak-senpai… I found another group but… it's kinda… small."

"What do you mean small?"

"…only two people in there."

"Only two?"

Yzak took a step forward and tried to peek. It's too dark to make out, but there are indeed two figures in front of them. "…okay… Dearka!"

"Roger!" The earth knight cocked one of his tonfa gun and shoot very close to the first figure. The figure didn't even budge. "Well, well… it looks like there are some tough guy after all."

The group step forward. Something snapped and a log of wood suddenly came crashing towards them. Yzak managed to dodge in time, but the two knights that were behind him did not. It knocked them off the ground.

"Those two!" Yzak growled. Beads of water appeared on his Ryuzan. "Hyomon Ken: Mizunari Hebi!" A serpent of water shot out from the sword and went straight at the smaller figure. It hit the person squarely. But he didn't show any sign of fighting back.

"Huh?"

They looked at each other and decided to check the two people. What they saw sent Shiho blushing mad, and Dearka almost thought that Yzak would literally explode in anger. Two of his men, beaten down and bruised, tied in a sitting position, stark naked. And a big bold black writing of "HA-HA!" was imprinted on their stomach.

Yzak growled and kicked the other one who's still sitting and wake him up. "B… Bruaaahh… …Sir Joule!"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

"Uh… uhh… two masked man beat me and my friend down… they… they stole our armors and disguise themselves as one of our own… and then one of them noticed we were watching them… and he knocked me unconscious."

"Masked men? Two of them you say?"

"Y… Yes!"

Yzak grunted. "Get up! We're going to chase them down!"

"Yes sir." The naked knight got up, and then something snapped. The next thing they knew, a large net were launched from above, trapping them all.

That was it… that was the real last straw. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" Yzak roared. As he squirmed, he realized the net was soaked in glue. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!"

Some distance away. Mwu had to hold his stomach to prevent him from laughing out loud upon hearing the roars. "Aw, that was priceless."

"You love to prank around, aren't you?" Kira's muffled voice flow out behind the knight's helmet.

"The Water Knight… that guy is one with a little anger management problem. A little trick like this will definitely burn him up."

"And you purposefully let that one knight seeing us getting changed."

"Aye. It'll create dissension among them. We both wear masks at the time so they wouldn't know. But that's not the real trick we're trying to do. Now… from here, they got a few possible tactics…" Mwu eyed the group of knights squirming out of the net.

"GATHER OUR FORCES! WE'LL BURN THIS ENTIRE FOREST TO THE GROUND TONIGHT!!"

"No way! Many of our men are spread all over the forest! We'll risk burning them that way."

"Grrhhh… grhhh…" Yzak gritted his teeth.

"I say we retreat to our main camp… give chance to our knights to assemble, and then we can start checking one by one… and then finally we can burn this forest if that's what you want."

"If we retreat tonight they'll have a considerable gain on us!"

"But if we just charge in blindly, we risk having that Mwu wreaking more havoc. Remember, he and another soldier wear our knight's clothing!"

"Grhhh…" Yzak's fury subsided slightly. "…we'll continue searching… but be careful!"

Mwu heard everything and chuckled. "What the… they choose an option that'll give us more chance to wreak more havoc after all."

"Mwu-san?"

"Heh? We're going to have more spot of fun on this guy… and then he'd wish he'll never set foot in this place… I think."

"Huh?"

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Meanwhile, Natarle lead what's left of their soldiers. Of the 10 soldiers that departed from Amaterasu, in the end, only Neuman and Jackie are left. Behind them, they can hear footsteps clanking ever nearer. At their back, Nichol lead 12 men and give chase.

"Natarle Fuku-taichou! At this rate… we won't be able to go on any longer!" Jackie gasped for breath.

"Safe your breath for running!"

"These guys' stamina is virtually limitless… Here they come!" Neuman noticed one of the knights were about to get to him. Natarle quickly turned and disarm the knight, grabbed his sword and slit the knight's throat. But more and more of them are coming. Natarle was ready to fight to the death… when she felt something just smashed her stomach. She looked around. Nobody's there. "…B… Blitz Armature…"

Nichol appeared, his fist planted on Natarle's belly. "If I can, I'd rather not hurt woman or children. Sorry."

"G… gah…"

"Get them!" Nichol sounded an order.

Neuman and Jackie were ready to make one last stand. Until a kunai lodged itself to a knight's neck from the side.

Everyone turned to see who the attacker is. Murrue and Kira's gang came charging in. The 12th division Captain thrust her spear to the Black Wood Knight, who jumped away as he disappeared. "You can't hide from me!" The female Captain released dozens of spike trap to the ground, encircling her. Given the fact that Nichol was wearing greaves, it didn't injure him one bit, but the sound of the spike shifting when Nichol's feet pressed upon them couldn't escape Murrue's ears. "OVER THERE!" She stabbed her spear to a specific spot and bingo: Sparks of fire light up as her spear nicked Nichol's black mask. The boy was clearly surprised by this. The spear was so close to piercing his ehad, he can even see the detailed ornament on the spear: the face of an iron maiden.

The wood knight gulped. 'Right… they created the weapon… they know its weakness as well.' Nichol immediately disappeared again. Murrue gave a wide 360 degree sweep, but the invisible knight seems have vanished in thin air.

Meanwhile, Kira's gang began fighting the Knights. At this point, their skills with their respective technique had no more hints of error or hesitation. What's with the frustration of having to leave their dinner had doubled their strength. Glad that her students doing well, Murrue concentrated her effort on the Wood Knight. 'Now…where's that knight? Blitz Armature made the user disappears from sight, not disappear from thin air…!'

"Ramias Taichou! B… Be careful! He added something into the armature!"

'Added something?' Just as this thought crossed her mind, a punch went to her back. She turned around and another hit landed on her back, again. She swung her spear blindly. She took another look at the spike trap around her. She then realized that they formed lines… tracks. '…add something… I see…'

She readied herself. "The Blitz Armature is a set of greaves, gauntlets, and a mask designed for total stealth. Not only it gives the user perfect disguise, it provides soundless footsteps and silent punches, covering the sound of breathing… you can even kill a man and not make a sound… that is Blitz Armature." The second the next hit landed to her side, with speed no one would expect she had, the Captain quickly stabbed right back at the direction where the hit is coming, weirdly enough, she stabbed downward… but it does it works: it managed to slash the knight's thigh. Blood spluttered as the wood knight reappeared and back away, holding his bleeding thigh.

"As I thought… that's your bloodline limit's lifeline."

"!!" The knight looked at the Captain. She figured it out already?

"T… Taichou?"

"He said he add something… that something… is his legs… his bloodline limit… is high speed. An ultra god like speed, so fast it's invisible to human eye. You're from Amarfi lineage, aren't you?"

The knight gasped. 'To know that much!?'

"The founder of Zaft Army's assassination squad, Onyx Assassins… the house of Amarfi. That black armor is the standard garment of the circle." Murrue readied her spear again. "Now that your legs are wounded, the speed of your run should be reduced."

Natarle looked at the black knight. It's true. Onyx Assassins are a branch of the Emerald Knight army. They are the black ops squad whose skills are in assassination and espionage. Unlike regular army, they wear little armor and they usually took pride in their speed. The Amarfi family, having the bloodline of the Ultrasonic Feet, is the fore founders of the group.

Nichol grunted. He disappeared but as Murrue had stated: his speed greatly decreased. The Amarfi Family's running technique is extremely unforgiving. Their legs are their lifeline. One spot of wound and it will affect their running greatly. And the wound on his thigh are no small wound indeed. In fact, as he run around the Murrue, she saw the woman was ready… and to make things even clearer for him, she was following him. 'As expected of a Captain… but I've never even heard her name… to think there's someone like this!'

Not wanting to be turned into a punching bag, Murrue grab another dozen of shuriken and throw it towards him. Three shuriken hit something midair and Murrue quickly stabbed something 3 meters away from the shuriken. Sparks of fire lit up again, this time, Nichol HAD to block the spear with both of his hands, otherwise that stab would've punched a hole through his stomach. "Grrrgh!" 'At this rate… two more stab… no… one more stab and she'll…!'

"GYAAAAAAAA!"

Nichol looked to his side. Natarle had recovered and again used her hand to hand skill to overpower and disarm the knights. Neuman and Jackie had also regained their confidence and some bits of their strength. The three immediately came to the aid of Kira's gang, who was about to be overpowered.

'A captain this strong and a lieutenant to boot… we don't have enough man for this…' "RETREAT!"

"Ergh?" the knights looked at their superior.

"We can't fight them like this. Retreat!"

"Are you kidding me!? We still outnumber th-" Before the knight could finish his protest, Natarle used the opening and stabbed the knight on the neck and behead him. The sudden death clearly had drilled Nichol's point into their heads: A captain that can injure an Elemental Knight, a lieutenant which supposedly only 2nd in strength to her captain, three pissed off fighting teenagers, and two angry soldiers fighting for their life. The combination had taken out half of their men. They ARE overwhelmed.

The knights reluctantly retreated. Nichol followed last.

Neuman and Jackie fell on their backs, panting and gasping. "Oh God… I don't know if I can take anymore of this…"

The trio teenagers panted. "This is what they're planning to do, aren't they… they want to deprive us of some sleep."

"W… We have to move on! They'll be… coming…ugh…" Natarle dropped to the ground, but was caught by her Captain. It was then she realized how strong her captain's grips were. So the fact that her captain had just overpowered an Elemental knight was no fluke. 'She used to be below me and we're both women of nearly the same age? I see now why they chose her as captain…'

"Rest here for the night. That's an order, lieutenant."

"Yes… ma'am…"

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"This is the third group that got attacked… all of them, like the first two, were found stark naked and their armors missing. All of them claimed they saw masked men attacked them, and the masked men dressed like them." One of the squad leaders reported.

Yzak crushed the cup in his hand. After they decided to be more careful, they find more and more naked soldiers on the way. What's worse, all of them are set in a group of three or two. Small irregular groups, as to confuse Shiho's Liquid tracking ability. They spent hours circling in a middle of the forest. Every time they uncover a naked knight, Shiho would find at least three more irregular groups. The poor girl nearly fainted due to exhaustion of using her special ability for too long. Finally seeing that without Shiho they cannot continue, Yzak grudgingly called a full retreat. And now, he was evaluating his army and checked them. Just like what Mwu had planned: the information that there are Alliance Soldiers that disguised themselves as knights created an amount of dissension among them. The soldiers began to distance themselves from each other. Infighting among the knights threatened to happen at a drop of a sword.

'He must be a Natural!'

'Trust no one… trust no one…'

'Is he the enemy… or…!'

The aura of conflict can be sensed running through the atmosphere. Mwu, who watched the base from afar, smirked. "Ah… good…"

"They didn't check their faces one by one though…"

"Of course not. They don't even know what kind of person they're looking for. People are bound to be scared by something they don't know."

"So what should we do now?"

"We'll continue our dinner. They won't dare to come out like this… and for the jutsu… where were we?"

And so the night passed on. Thanks to Mwu and Kira's effort, the survivors of Amaterasu can sleep quite soundly that night.

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The next day, Yzak inspect his troops. The tense atmosphere coupled with the soldiers' anxiety left most of them with a tired look. They were so scared that night that some of them didn't get enough sleep.

Dearka frowned. "We want to deprive them of their sleep… but instead, it seems it backfired on us…"

Yzak grunted. He even heard that Nichol's group was forced to retreat last night. Having the chance to calm down, he thought up an idea on how they should do their search today without causing anymore accident like this. "So be it… Today's patrol will be the same like yesterday… BUT! Leave your helmet."

The Knights looked at Yzak.

"Those impostor knights wear helmet. That's why no one knows which one is who… so undo your helmet!"

The knights silently agree with Yzak with ceremonious nods and undo their helmets.

Mwu watched everything from the tree and frowned. He immediately got down from his spot as the knights began to march out. "You can undo that armor now kid, it won't do much good now."

"Great… this armor is too cramped out for me." It is! Kira didn't have trouble to wear double clothing, but that armor to boot, and my, it felt like he was being boiled by his own sweat! "Anyway… now that they removed their helmets, how should we use that tactic you told me?"

"Worry not, we got what we wanted. Look at them: tired and tensed. A perfect target for ambushes and traps."

"There won't be enough traps to stop them all."

"That depends on what kind of traps you're setting. Come on!"

"Oh dear…"

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"We should go on." Murrue concluded.

"Aren't we going to look for Kira and Mwu-san first?"

"Those two should be okay." Natarle tried to convince the kids, with little success.

Murrue sighed. "Even if later they still have yet to arrive in Archangel when we do, we can then ask Harlbarton to form search parties. We are too few right now to search the whole place down."

"Okay…"

"Now come. The fortress shouldn't be too far off."

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Kira and Mwu set up one trap after another throughout the forest. Sometimes they set up an obvious trap and leave without waiting. Another time, they set up an elaborate trap, and wait. Regardless of the kind of trap they set up, Mwu always get a good inward laugh… at the unfortunate knight's expense. Throughout the morning, Kira watched Mwu preparing traps from the usual to unusual. Kira wondered how Mwu could gather the necessary parts of those traps. He had to admit, Mwu did wonderful job setting those traps in a span of 3 minutes, at most!

Starting with the average fire trap, bear hole, rolling logs, rain of shurikens, trapping net and then somewhere along the line, the unusual ones: sticky pit (Kira had no idea how did Mwu came up with plenty of glue in the midst of the forest), dung bombs, rain of worms, hornet's nest catapult, human sized 'Chaos Rat' cage (with giant rats, wild cats, and rabid dogs in them) and monkey hang-man (a knight get caught by the leg and hanged near a nest of crazed monkeys). Many knights had fallen victim, and by the end of it all, Mwu had to pinch himself to prevent him from laughing out loud. More and more, Kira begin to think these traps were specifically made not to stop the knights, but to play pranks at them.

All things considered, he began to pity them.

In the latest trap (prank) Mwu used Genjutsu to impersonate a tree into the image… of naked Murrue, Milly and Natarle piled on each other (resulting in a massive blood loss from three groups of knights who saw the same illusion).

"Kakaka… k… kiddo… pinch me… before I laugh harder… help! PRFTT!!" Mwu grab hold of his mouth as he saw liters upon liters blood pouring out from a bunch of knights' noses.

The blushing Kira pinched him right on the butt. '…a captain… a guy like this?' "Just don't tell that to Tolle. He'll kill you in a heartbeat."

"That was more effective then I've imagined though. Men are such a pervert."

"You're one to talk. You performed that technique… they teach you this in the academy?"

"It's only an illusion. Who knows! Maybe one day, someone will invent a jutsu that will use this concept and makes it more real!" Mwu grinned, ear to ear.

"In any case, I hope you're done playing around. Come on. We got to rendezvous with the others, no?"

"Aw don't be so tense. Loosen up. We managed to halt their progress with our traps. This way, they'll have a hard time traversing this forest."

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Yzak find himself losing his temper faster than Dearka could say "Calm down."

First, they came across a bunch of knights fell down to a pit, 20 meters deep. And then he found several knights with their asses on fire. Another time he saw some knights with bent and misshapen armor claimed they've been stampeded by a pack of elephants (in reality it's only wood logs). So far it's a normal case where a knight fallen into a trap… until he start seeing a group of knights running away with buzzing hornets chasing them. And then he saw some knights got stuck on a sugar coated sticky net, screaming their heads off as they were trapped near a giant ants' den. Next, a bunch of logs swinging here and there… and vomiting knights stuck on the glued surface.

Yzak's face was red. And his friends were sure that one more trap aftermath scene was enough to send him into fits of exploding anger. That scene is fast approaching: the sight of three hundred knights fainting with the worst case of nosebleed he had ever seen, chanting boobs and cuties in their miasma.

"…"

Dearka, Nichol and Shiho were prepared for the inevitable.

One second… two seconds… three seconds… no reaction!

Dearka dared himself to peek. Much to his surprise, he saw Yzak was thinking. "Dearka… you got a detailed map of this area?"

"Urmm… sure." Surprised by this uncharacteristic change in character, Dearka simply produced such map. The water knight opened it and looked calmly. Silence. Dearka gulped and asked. "Yzak? Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"W… well… mind explaining what you are up to?"

"…not yet." Yzak is still studying the map. For some time, he looked at the sky, as if counting the distance. "…unless I'm wrong…" after several minutes of utter silence, the silver haired boy speaks again. "…we're supposed to in this here spot."

The other knights looked at the point and nodded in agreement.

"Okay… I have a plan…"

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Meanwhile, thanks to the traps set by Kira and Mwu, there are less people chasing Murrue and the others. A fact in which they are grateful for. "I don't understand… they seem to be less people chasing us?" Even Kuzzey found the courage to turn back and look. Yesterday, their chasers seem to number in hundreds. Today, they seem so… dispersed and divided.

"They also look… exhausted and sleepy." Neuman was bewildered.

"And last night, we didn't get the night attacks we were expecting…"

"Must be Mwu." Natarle concluded.

"Who else? That person is gifted in the art of mass prank catastrophe and wreaking chaos."

"Prank?" Tolle blinked excitedly.

"I mean TRAPS! I mean… traps… not prank… traps!" Murrue gulped.

"…I just hope in his zeal of making all those traps, he didn't forget about Kira." Sai chuckled.

"S… Still! H… How much further till we reach the fortress?"

"We should've arrived by now…"

"Kuzzey come on! They're right behind you!" Tolle yelled at the boy, who was trailing behind.

"I'm try- WHOAAA!" Kuzzey suddenly fell down. One of the knights quickly ran at him.

"Kuzzey!" The trio quickly ran to their fallen friend. Tolle was the first to get there and immediately kicked the knight out of the way. Today the knights didn't wear any helmet so he won't bother aiming their necks or lower guts; the boy easily bashed the person's head.

"KILL ALL NATURALS!" The knights roared.

"They seem to be fiercer though…" The trio gulped.

One of the knights wildly charged at them, only to have his neck stabbed from the side. Despite blood flowing from his neck, he turned to face the attacker only to be stabbed again, this time on his chest. Murrue throw the now dead knight towards a group of the attackers. "Come on!"

Sai pulled Kuzzey back on his feet and they start running again. But those knights were relentless. Lack of sleep and anxiety has put them all in a very nasty mood, and such, they're quite terrifying in their zeal.

The chase continues until the group finally reaches the forest's exit. They had almost run out of stamina at this point, while the knights are still as energetic as they can be. Unlike the Captain and the other soldier though, Kira's gang's stamina had pretty much reached the bottom-line. They can't even see what's going on in front of them. Until a loud explosion suddenly awaken them from their daze. The first one to grasp the situation was Sai. For a moment, upon hearing the explosion, he thought the Trigger Happy Earth Knight had caught up on them. When the second explosion occurred, he realized that the sound was different, and it was shot from their backs. All the while, the second explosion had pretty much brought everyone back to earth.

Tolle looked at the source of an explosion and saw a crater. A giant crater appeared right where a group of knights had just stood.

'…What was that?' The knights stopped dead in their tracks for one full second… before turn back and ran off their heels.

Milly realized… they were afraid of something. "What are they afraid of? Not us?"

Kuzzey was petrified. He was the first one to see what scares them, and it truly shocked him.

"Kuzzey? Something's wrong?" Sai looked at Kuzzey's direction… and he too was thunderstruck.

The remaining two turned around and gasped. "…Milly… have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Didn't know human can build such thing…"

A gigantic, as in gigantic, white circular wall stood before them. Two majestic, giant, statutes of an angel holding up a sword adorned the said wall, standing side by side, with an enormous gate in the middle. Two, smoking, giant cannons, 15 times the size of normal cannon can be seen above the angels' heads.

Murrue smiled. "The walls… of Archangel…"

"We made it…" Neuman and Jackie were relieved beyond compare. They saw people screaming and pointing at them at the top of the wall.

On the walls of the Archangel…

"That's… 12th division Captain, Murrue Ramias!"

"We got civilian in vicinity!"

"Cover fire! Drive the knights back!"

"Should we fire the Lohengrin Cannon again?"

"No. They're too big; we might hit them by mistake. That two shots were quite overkill, actually." An elderly man wearing a ragged Captain coat crossed his arm before his chest. "Ready a squad. And open the gate! Protect them at all cost."

"Yes, Captain!"

The gate began to open. The sight of it brought hope to the group. They pick themselves up and ran towards their salvation. Soldiers pour out from the giant gate and immediately provide them with cover. The knights, tried to give chase, but up there, Harlbarton issued another order. "Ready the Gottfrieds."

"Ready the Gottfrieds!" A boy with blonde hair yelled the order.

The gunners loaded the cannons and pushed them out. Dozens of Gottfried cannons appeared all over the walls. The very sight of it stopped the knights in their tracks.

"Give them a volley, one shot from each cannon."

"A volley, one shot from each cannon!" The boy yelled again.

The head gunners nodded and shout. "FIRE!"

"FIRE!"

"FIRE! FIRE!!"

A simultaneous orders of "Fire!" resounded all over the interior of the white walls, and following, the cannons rained down a volley of destruction upon the pursuing knights, with devastating proportion. Meanwhile, the soldiers quickly brought the group inside the fortress under their protection.

00000000000000

"That sound…"

The sound of the first two Lohengrin cannon shot had echoed throughout the forest.

"That was… cannon fire?"

"Not just any cannon… the Archangel's Lohengrin Great Cannons."

"Archangel?"

"Yep. The most feared fortress this side of the earth."

"Why would the fortress shoot its infamous cannon though?"

"Who knows? Maybe they got incoming enemies."

"…"

"In any case, now at least we know where we should go. Come on! And put on your disguise."

"Okay." The two dashed through the forest. They were nearing the exit when suddenly something grabbed Kage's leg, causing him to trip. "Gwo! W… what?" he looked at his leg: something… or someone grabbed his leg… but he didn't see anyone.

Mwu instantly realized what happened. "Kid! BEAT IT!"

"Huh?"

The blond ninja quickly throw a kunai at Kira's leg; the invisible Nichol had to retract his hand to avoid being stabbed, and thus freeing Kage. The (fake) ninja got up quickly as the black wood knight decided to reveal himself.

"What… you're here… then that means…"

As if on cue, Yzak, Dearka, Shiho, and a small group of knights appeared out of the forest. "How does it feel to fall into OUR trap?"

"Like shit." Mwu grinned nervously.

00000000000000

Back in Archangel…

The fortress was massive, as expected, at least 10 stories high. The front gate faces the forest, the spherical back part of the fortress faces directly to the ocean, serving as an in built circular port. When Murrue first entered the giant fortress Archangel, she had expected an army would be waiting there. What she did not expect was the fact that the fortress is littered with rubbles and cannon holes. Smoke arises here and there, as if showing that the place had been attacked a few days back. Some soldiers are walking in limp with bandages all over. "W… what happened here?"

"Good afternoon, everyone." An elder man with moustache and a rather rough blond hair greeted them. A white ragged vest adorned his clothing and a kanji of seven adorned his back.

"Captain Harlbarton!"

"Captain Ramias. Lieutenant Badgiruel. Good to see you two." The elder captain saluted the younger captains.

"Captain! What happened here?"

"Two weeks ago, the whole bulk of the Zaft's Carpentaria fleet appeared out of nowhere and started initiating their bombardment of this place. Not that it can annoy us much, so far, the damage they've inflicted on us are mostly cosmetical. And yes well, we got some wounded here and there… and we suffer our fair share of some fatalities." Just then, a soldier yelled "INCOMING!" and a cannon ball shot by one of Zaft's battleship landed on the port in an explosion.

"May we request a squad of your troops for a search party? We're still missing two people."

"Who are they?"

"…Captain Flagga and a civilian."

"Eh!? Nii-san?" A boy blinked. The three officers turned to the boy. Kira's gang gasped. The boy was probable their age, and indeed he had a very distinctive resemblance with Mwu, particularly his blond hair and blue eyes.

"Yes, Prayer. Your brother's in there." Murrue confirms it.

Prayer Reverie turned to his captain. "Sir! Request permission to form search parties!"

"Granted. You two are going to go as well?"

"Yes." Murrue and Natarle nodded.

"Take 500 men, each of you. Go. Prayer, we'll hold out here."

"Yes sir."

00000000000000

It was so elementary; Mwu couldn't believe that he, the master prankster, had actually bought it, hook, line, and sinker. They know where they'll be going, and so, they waited here, near the entrance, in a road that people would certainly go through if they wish to go to the fortress.

Two ninjas. One fully fledged and one wasn't even a real ninja.

Four Elemental knights and about seven knights: all armed to teeth and trained to kill.

All things considered, Mwu had to admit… their situation is pretty grim.

Yzak smirked in triumph. One person is the infamous Captain: Mwu La Flagga. The other… well, he doesn't know who he is… but he knew this man is the one that beat the crap out of Miguel and Dearka.

Dearka chuckled. "Yo, we meet again!"

Kage frowned. His hand balled into a fist, ready to fight.

"Whoa… whoa… easy. As much as I want to pay you back for that beating of a century you gave me, there's someone else here who wants to fight you badly."

For a moment, Kage thought that mad orange knight will be the one who'll fight him. But much to his surprise, the aqua Knight step forward. "I'll be your opponent. I am Yzak Joule. Water Knight of the Zaft Army."

Kage remained silent. This seems had offended the knight.

"Are you listening to me? Are you mute? Deaf?"

Kage blinked. What was he supposed to do?

Mwu quickly whispered to his ears. "I think that guy challenged you to a duel. It is their knightly code to announce their name and rank when challenging someone."

"…and I suppose I have to reply in kind? What should I tell him?"

"I don't know. Improvise!"

"…" Kage sweat-dropped. "I'm… Kage, a ninja. And that's the lot."

Mwu fall anime-style.

Dearka laughed and Nichol looked bewilderedly at the ninja. Yzak was the only one not amused. "Well… I guess the concept of proper introduction is just too advanced for you Natural savages." The knight pulled out his Ryuujinzan: a blue transparent ornamental trident edged sword.

The knights back away to give the two warriors some space. Kage blinked several times, not fully understanding the situation. He looked at Mwu for help. The elder man whispered to him one last time. "Listen, you had to fight him, and you had to use Shiki. He's holding Ryuujinzan. One of our secret weapon."

"What it'd do?"

"Produce and manipulate large quantities of water."

"…I see… and what Shiki can do?"

"You tell me kid. You're the one being chosen no?" And with that, Mwu backed away, leaving Kage flabbergasted behind his mask. He looked at the Water Knight nervously and pulled out his Katana.

Yzak readied his battle stance and realized that in an instant that his opponent is shivering. The knight smirked.

Kage realized he was shivering. But before he can take necessary steps to calm himself, Yzak charged forward. Taken by surprise, Kage clumsily and erroneously blocked the incoming stab. It pierced his side and threw him off balance. Yzak mercilessly sent another slash to his stomach. Kage fortunately tripped backwards and the slash only nicked his clothes. The ninja back away, trying to put some distance. But the opponent has no intention of giving him any.

"Come on Kage! Get back on your feet!" Mwu yelled.

"Easy for you to say-Whoa!" Kage rolled to the side, barely avoiding Yzak stab. Sparks of fire lit up as the trident sword grazed Shiki. Yzak swing his sword upward, smashing Shiki, and Kage along with it, off the ground.

"Come on! What's wrong with you?" Yzak fiercely give chase. Kage had just stood up when Yzak launched another vertical swing, and the ninja block it a little late. The blade sank a few centimeters into his shoulder, but he managed to stop it from cleaving his left arm completely. The Water knight pulled the sword back, slicing Kage's shoulder. Blood burst out as Kage groaned under his mask. Before he can do anything though, Yzak punched him squarely on his chest, knocking the air off his lung as well as sending him flying. The ninja landed with a sickening crack and start coughing. Blood spilled out from the holes of his mask. Gratefully, Yzak choose that time to take a breather.

"What's this? Is that it? Master Veia held you in such a high regard and this is the best you can give me?"

"Don't know… what you're talking about…" Kage panted. He didn't remember meeting a guy with an antler horn helmet before.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Yzak furiously grabbed Kage's collar. The ninja quietly began creating a specific set of seals. The knight looked at him in the eye. Zak glared intensely at the ninja's purple eyes. "I actually believed what Master Veia had said about you being the hidden trump card when you defeat Dearka! And now when your opponent is me… I get a weakling?"

Kage quietly took a deep, deep breath. Given the situation, he only got one shot, if he fails, he's dead. For a moment Kage looked at the knight's head. He took one last deep breath… "Katon…"

"?"

"GOUKYAKU NO JUTSU!" …and he sprayed a healthy dose of fresh fire right into Yzak's face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" To say the knight was shocked was a gross understatement. Yzak hold his now steaming hot helmet and dropped the still fire coughing Kage to the ground. The water knight quickly undoes his helmet and throws it away. His face was red of heat, partly because he got his head steamed, and partly because he was mad. His hair is pure silver and about a neck long. His fierce gaze glared at Kage.

The spectators gaped. Mwu was the only one laughing. "Ha! Nice one kid!"

Having gained some momentum, Kage quickly grabbed Shiki and quickly asserts himself. Yzak grabbed his hot face and looked angrily at the ninja. "I should've remembered fire was your specialty… after all… it was you who burned Miguel didn't you?"

Kage frowned. "You mean that mad knight? Didn't he burn himself?"

"WATCH YOUR TONGUE DAMN YOU! How do you think he became like that?"

"…enlighten me."

That was the last straw for Yzak. With a roar, the knight charged at him. He sends slashes after slashes at the ninja, uttering a word on every hit. "DON'T. PLAY. COY. WITH. ME!" Kage managed to block the last hit. Their faces were inches away. "YOU DROVE HIM TO MADNESS!"

"Then why don't you tell me how exactly did I do that?"

"Parts of his helmet melted to his brain." Yzak stated. Kage's eyes widened. "Thanks to YOU. RAAAAAAAAAGH!" The knight broke the stalemate.

"Yeah well, sure I beat him yesterday, but he was already crazy!" Kage grunted.

"You can't fool me, not after what I've seen." Yzak furiously sent another wave of rapid slashes and stabs. Kage had a hard time blocking them. His swing is simply faster and stronger. The knight landed a stab, and Kage tried to block it. Unfortunately, he blocked it on the wrong angle. He stab went through to his right side stomach. The ninja grunted. "When we found him, he got one giant scar on his chest, and a giant cut on the ground. That same cut you gave to Dearka just a few days ago, remember?"

Realization dawned to him. He remembered back in Amaterasu. The bright white light, the giant cut, the large scar. Everything checks.

"Aaahh, it rings the bell, is it? RAGH!" Yzak slashed his sword to the side, leaving a rather large slash on Kage's right belly. The ninja staggered, in an attempt to gain some footing. But clearly the knight will have none of that. With a roar, the knight sent a kick to his face, throwing him away a few meters back.

Kage struggled to get back up. The wounds and bruises on his body made it an even harder task to do. He looked at the knight, apparently waiting for him to take an act. 'W… he's different… he's different with Dearka… I've never seen someone as ferocious as him… How… how am I supposed to fight back? Once he attack he never stopped… wait… he never stopped? He is stopping now, isn't he?'

An idea brewed up in his head. 'Another sink or swim… but it looks like I don't have any other choice…' With great difficulty, Kage managed to get up again. But his figure was so fragile, people would assume one more hit and the boy would fall.

Yzak, assuming the same, charge forward and sent an attack. Kage managed to parry the attack to his side. As expected, the temperamental boy sent another series of attacks, one that Kira barely managed to block, parry or dodge. In his mind questioning just how long the attack is going to last, secretly though, he performed a set of seals in the midst of the defending. When the tenth slashes ended, Yzak lungs a powerful stab forward. Kage's shaky hand was unable to hold the Shiki much longer and he allow it to be tossed away. But it was all part of the plan. Now that both hands are free, in a split one second, Kage finished the seal, and the next thing they know, his right hand is glowing.

"SHOGEKIGAN!" The ninja quickly smashed Mwu's jutsu at the knight's stomach. The blast exploded through his armor into his stomach, and then went through his back, punching a hole on his armor's back while sending him backwards a few meters away. Yzak hold his stomach for a few moments before he vomited altogether.

"GWaAaRgh!" Yzak looked at his breakfast, thrown out.

Meanwhile, Kage back away and search for his weapon. It stuck a few meters away from him. Crawling quickly to the spot, he plucks it off the ground and then he's back to his fighting stance.

The water knight on the other hand, is still trying to deal with the second dose of vomiting, in which he just vomited last night's dinner. 'Grlhh… w… what the hell was that…first the breath of fire trick…and now this? This guy's movements are amateurish at best… but when he struck… the power's no joke alright…'

The two opponents looked at each other.

Yzak smashed his fist to the ground in fury. "Don't joke with me… DON'T JOKE WITH ME!!" 'Me? Losing to this… lowly ninja? Preposterous!' "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

This time, Kage's ready. 'This guy can create a chain hit of about 10 or 9 or so… but his last hit always packs the most power with the intention of knocking his opponents away and create some distance… and Mwu did say he has an anger management problem…' He parried most of the attacks or dodge. He learned now that blocking the knight's attack was a bad idea: first: because he sucked at it, second: because the peculiar shape of his opponent sword, and third: because he had to conserve energy. Kage patiently deal with each attack as he progressively back away, step by step. When the last stroke was about to hit, Kira turned away and run towards the encircling knights. The knights, thinking he wants to run, fortify themselves, just like what he wants.

"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Yzak charged forward. But before he can get to his opponent, the ninja stepped on one of the blocking knights, and using them as a stepping stone, he somersault to the back, simultaneous planted a kunai on the charging Yzak's back. Caught by surprise due to the unexpected maneuver, and what's with the sudden painful sensation, the water knight lost control of his body and crashed into the other knight.

Yzak roughly pushed the knight out of his way. Staggering for a moment, he only realized that it's Kage's turn to make him a punching bag when he saw Kage's foot, just a centimeter away from his cheek. The kick sent him spinning for a few seconds, leaving him half dizzy as he recovered. Still in such state, the knight rush forward, trying to land a hit. Kage simply side stepped and tripped him on his knee, sending him flying. The knight landed face first. And with Yzak's temper, the boy simply charged back up. But as he lifted his sword, Kage's left leg stepped on it, and his right leg landed another kick on his jaw, sending him plummeting away.

Everyone gasped at the turnaround. Dearka was the only one unaffected. "What the hell are you gasping at? This battle barely began!"

Yzak stood up and rubbed the blood off his lips. Something tingling inside his mouth and he spit it out. It was a tooth. His tooth. He looked at Kage. He's back to his battle stance. "Okay… okay… you want to get serious? Then I'll be serious." Beads of water begin to appear around Yzak.

Seeing this new development, Kage took another step back. 'Ryuujinzan… fang of the water dragon… Mwu-san said its ability is… to produce water and manipulate it?'

"Hyomonken, Mizunari Hebi! (Water Serpent)" Following its namesake, the technique literally turned all the water around into a large water serpent. Unprepared for such technique, Kage blocked it. But water serpent is water. The water simply went through the blade and lashed itself on Kage's chest. The attack pushed him away before slamming him flat to the ground.

Ryuujinzan generated more and more water beads. "Hyomonken: Hisame!" The water beads melded together, forming water spikes. The water spikes launch itself towards Kage. Kage dodged the spikes but obviously, not all spikes can be dodged. 2 stabbed his thigh and another 3 hit his shoulder. Kage fell short to the ground. All the wounds in his body bleeding continuously. Yzak continued with another of his Hyomonken attack: "Zanmai!" The knight swung his sword, unleashing a wave of water that cuts through the ground as it made its way to the downed Kage. The ninja had just finished his seal in time and quickly performed the jutsu: "Katon, Goukyaku no Jutsu!"

But the water blade was unstoppable. It cuts through the flame and Kage barely managed to dodge the attack. It scores a clean cut on his thigh. This time, Kage had to gasp in pain. He fell down to the ground, bathed in his own blood, gasping for breath, unable to move.

Mwu frowned. 'I knew it… with a half assed training on ninjutsu… trying to cram it in one night is impossible…'

Yzak approached the downed opponent slowly, as if savoring the sight of his victory as well as being cautious. Just then, the figure starts moving again.

Kage didn't understand how it is possible that he can still move either. But the fact is, he was getting back on his feet, albeit slowly. '…one last trick I suppose…' He looked Yzak. The silver haired boy readied himself. Kage closed his eyes and readied Shiki in his right hand, a rather large shuriken in his left, and something else.

The new weapon also caught Yzak's interest. 'What are you up to? With that crushed body of yours…'

Kage put the shuriken before his mouth for a moment and for the first time in the said duel, he charged head on! Shiki clashed once with the Ryujinzan before Kage used the clash to spin backwards, at the same time, he tosses the large shuriken at Yzak, which the latter dodged. A few moments later, Kage throw the Shiki… 3 meters away from the opponent.

Yzak laughed. "Are you crazy? You throw off both of your weapons?" Yzak charged at Kage, he didn't realize that Kira was holding strings with both of his hands and his mouth.

Meanwhile, the Shuriken continues it spin… and it stopped midair, right in front of Shiho, who had prepared to dodge the said weapon. A glimmer in the air showed that there are strings tied to the said weapon as well. The shuriken is still spinning midair… before it went back from whence it came. In an instant, Shiho realized the Shuriken's target. "YZAK-SAMA!"

Shiho's scream caught Yzak's attention; He turned around and saw the shuriken is just millimeters away from his unprotected face. He bent his whole upper body upwards to prevent fatal wound but…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" Blood burst out of Yzak's face, as the Shuriken had slashed him clean. A diagonal scar stretches from above his cheek all the way to his forehead. "AAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" The silver haired boy roared in pain as he holds his bloody face.

Kage caught the Shuriken with his left hand, flicking his right hand; he pulled the string attached to the Shiki as well and caught it midair. To everyone, it was as if Kage simply moved his arms and the objects just floated on its own.

Everyone gasped. Some of the knights who saw how the shuriken stopped midair shivered in fear. "That was… that was w-w-witchcraft! M-magic! N-n-necromancy! H-h-how did he stop the blade m-m-midair?"

Mwu couldn't be more impressed. 'The triple blade trick… Using Shiki to pull the strings… nice…'

Kage breathe heavily. That technique was a really risky gamble. He somehow pulled it out though…

"You… BASTAAAARD!!" Yzak roared. The blood on his face suddenly began to pulsate.

"Huh?" Kage blinked.

Slowly but sure, as if it has a life of its own, the blood began to move and pool up on Yzak's hand. The red liquid gathered together forming a single crimson sphere on his palm.

'…could it be… his bloodline limit is… to control his own blood?' Mwu gasped. "KID! RUN!"

"DIE!" the silver haired boy roared, and the blood sphere exploded, sending hordes of blood creatures to the sky before it rapidly landed to the ground barraging Kage's body again and again. The bloody rain continued on and on until the crimson sphere disappears completely. When it's finally over, a crater can be seen, and Kage's body was buried in the rabble. The blood barrage had pulverized everything it hits, including, apparently, Kage.

Mwu stared wide eyed at the crater. All that's left of his student is Shiki, stuck on the ground.

Yzak hold his bleeding head. "Argh… ARGGh! It hurts… it really hurts!!"

The knights looked at the crater and then at Yzak again. "He's done it! He's done it! Yzak Joule had defeated the enemy!"

The knights begin to cheer happily amongst themselves.

"All that's left… is to take care of you." Dearka aimed his Tonfa gun at Mwu.

The Captain was furious. "Try me!"

Before they can go with the battle though, a burst of chakra exploded right on the spot where Kage lay, stopping everyone on their tracks. Burst of blue fire appeared from underneath the rabble. Everyone gasped. Yzak gasped. 'Blue fire? Just like Miguel's?'

Mwu recognized the blue fire chakra all at once. "NO! That's not fire! That's…"

"GrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The beastly roar sent a cold shiver down everyone's spine. Even Yzak was forced to forget the pain of his scar.

The next second, an arm burst out from the crater, sending rocks everywhere, revealing a figure. Kage. Or was it him? Mwu frowned. The boy was shrouded in blue bright fiery chakra. It covers his entire body, healing all the wounds at unbelievable speed. Upon closer observation, though the boy's entire figure is enclosed in a blue aura, Mwu noted that the blue fire chakra stemmed from two places: the boy's left arm… and his left eye… which has turned color and shape: from purple human eye to yellow slit. Kage took a deep breath and exhales a burst of blue fire. Meanwhile, the chakra enclosing him began to take shape; in particular, it encompassed mainly his left arm and shoulder. The chakra formed a large claw on his left hand… and an extra appendage on his left shoulder.

"W… what the… hell are you?"

'Kage' looked at the bleeding Yzak… and chuckled coldly. "To go hysteria over a small wound… how unsightly."

Mwu shivered at the sound. It sounded like Kira… but it was as if his voice is mixed with someone else's.

The silver haired warrior grunted and began gathering water again. "Shut up! I congratulate you for surviving my bloodline limit, but now, I'll finish this! Hyomon Ken! Hebi Zanmai!" The water knight sent a horde of water serpents at Kage. The said target didn't even bother looking at it, the water stopped inches away from the ninja. Everyone blinked.

Kage touched the razor sharp water serpents gently, and they turned into a mass of water floating in the sky. The ninja aimed his left palm on the glob of water. Beads of water appearing allover Kage's arm and they mixed together with the existing water. Just then, the chakra around the left arm began to form… Mwu had to rub his eyes several times to see he wasn't dreaming… the chakra formed the shape of handseals. "Suiton, Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

The amassed water suddenly formed a swirling giant dragon. The water dragon head straight at the gasping Yzak. "It can't be! That's my water!" The giant dragon engulfed him and carried him to the air before slamming him back to earth. Yzak gritted his teeth. "Impossible… IMPOSSIBLE!" Yzak splashed the water dragon away, an act which drained his last remaining strength. He looked towards his opponent… only to find he had prepared another jutsu: "Katon, Goukyaku no jutsu."

Kage aimed his palm at Yzak again. The chakra had made the required set of handseals earlier. Fire burst out from Kage's palm. But, unlike Mwu's Goukyaku no jutsu, instead of a simple mass of fire, the fire took shape. Within moments, it formed a perfect, dense and compact ball of fire. The condensed flame shot out towards Yzak's direction. The knight quickly performed his technique: "Hyomonken, Zanmai!"

But unlike before, instead of slicing the ball of fire, the water blade was vaporized before it even touch it. Unhindered, the fireball hit its target dead center and explodes with the force equal to a small thermonuclear explosion. The ground shattered and a huge pillar of flame burst out, toasting everything in its reach. The fire settles down a few moments later, revealing a charred Yzak, barely alive. "Water… and then… fire too?"

Kage grinned behind his mask. Several knights decided to interfere and secretly prepared an arrow. As if knowing what's going on, the possessed Shinobi roared.

"GROOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" Just a roar and yet it was powerful enough to knock everyone in vicinity off the ground. Dearka had to use his gravity field on himself to keep himself from being blown away. Yzak stabbed his sword to the ground and managed to hold out for one full second before he was tossed to the trees. Nichol, Shiho and the rest of the knights were helplessly blown away a few meters back.

Mwu landed on the bushes and look incredulously at the boy. 'That was… no… that's not the kid…' "…Who… who are you?"

Kage grinned. Yzak, still unwilling to give up, rushed towards Kage for one final attack. But before he even put his first step, Kage's iron clad grip had found its way to his throat, choking him. Kage's right hand flickered, and in an instant, Shiki's back to his master's hand. The blade starts glowing, building energy.

Shiho gasped. "S… STOP! HE'S GOING TO KILL HIM!" The knight rushes towards Kage, but before she got far, Kage understandingly tossed the now unconscious Yzak to Shiho's lap. The girl looked at the silver haired boy. He was unconscious and an imprint of Kage's finger crushing his windpipe can be seen on his throat.

Dearka furiously barraged the ninja with his tonfa gun. The chakra appendage on Kage's left shoulder moved and created a barrier. All the bullets were stopped midair. The earth knight combined his tonfas into the cannon and fired. Again, the giant bullet stopped midair. Kage stare at it and blink. The next second, the giant bullet was pulverized. Dearka gaped. The barrier disappeared and the smaller bullets fell down. The moment they touched the ground though, the ninja was no longer there. Dearka didn't have time to look for the target as the said target had just yanked his head with his chakra induced left hand from his back and tossed him like a softball to a rock, simultaneously sending another white energy blast from Shiki right at him. Dearka smashed unto the rock, shattering it upon impact, and in less than a second, the energy blast from Shiki came and hit him full, destroying everything in its explosion.

Nichol frowned. Two of his friends were overpowered. So brute force is out of question. He quickly uses his supersonic speed and start running around the target. The so called target smiled… and he disappeared into thin air. Nichol wondered where on earth his target is while maintaining his speed… and the impossible happens. He saw the ninja… running around him! "T… THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Let me say the obvious: even if your legs are in perfect condition, you have no chance to beat me in speed." The ninja's voice echoed around him.

Knowing he had lost, Nichol stopped running around and fell down to his knees. Kage appeared before him and eyed him carefully. "…they're still alive."

"What?"

"Your friends. They're still alive. But only barely. You can go and help them or you can continue this futile fighting if you like. But you seem to be the brightest of the three. You should understand this as well. Your knights had lost their will to fight."

True. That was very true. No sane Emerald Knights would dare to fight a warrior who single handedly bested three Elemental knights in one go.

"If you choose to leave, then feel free to do so. But if you choose to fight on, mind you, they'll be no more room for mercy." But Kage and Nichol knew such thing is unnecessary.

"Retreat. Get Dearka-san out of there. We've… lost."

The knights were more than happy to do so. They'd rather retreat than fighting this monster of a warrior! In a span of few seconds, all the knights disappeared from sight. Kage looked at Mwu. The man pointed his Kodachi at him.

"…you have every right to be scared at me." Kage removed his ninja disguise and looked at the Captain.

Mwu get a better look at Kira's face. His right eye remained the same. But his left eye… was that even a human eye? "Who are you?"

"I see Kira is not your first case." The fact that the boy addressed himself in third person confirms Mwu's suspicion.

"GET OUT OF HIM NOW!" The blond man roared.

"I'm afraid that's not your decision… nor was it mine."

"If you think I'm just gonna stand by to watch a monster twisting my student…"

"Calm down. I have no intention on harming the boy. But I don't deny that I'm monster." The 'Monster' chuckled. "But fortunately for all of us, I'm a different sort of monster."

"You all look the same to me!"

"Regrettably so." The monster smiled sadly. "But I'm different in that you and I have a same purpose. We both wanted to help this child." He pointed at himself.

"…"

"…Mwu la Flagga isn't it? A few days ago, you taught the child about handseals and jutsu. What do you know of the 4 missing seals?"

Mwu frowned. "It's a public secret that the handseals for Jutsu follows the creatures of the zodiac. So far however, only 8 were known: rat, ox, rabbit, horse, sheep, monkey, dog, pig. The remaining 4: Snake, Tiger, Dragon and Roost were said to be… the missing seals. Even kindergarten knows this."

'Kira' chuckled. "Kindergarten doesn't know how to do the 4 missing seals. I do."

Mwu blinked.

"You saw the jutsus, yes? I performed the same jutsu with yours, why do you think the results were so worlds apart?"

Mwu remembered that during the fight, the 'Monster's Goukyaku no Jutsu was compact and condensed. And also, unlike the misshapen mass of fire he usually blew out, the fire formed a perfect sphere, and thus the destructive force is concentrated in the sphere. "4 seals can make that much difference?"

"When the fore-founders first created the handseal system, they realized ninjutsu arts are a terrifying power. Fallen into the wrong hands, it can cause untold amount of massive destruction. And thus, they separated the 4 important seals: The Cardinal Seals. With these seals, the strength of the jutsu will advance in leaps and bounds."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because now I will teach you the secrets of the four seals including their functions, and then you will help Kira and guide him."

"Why me? Why not do it yourself?"

"When I'm gone, the knowledge of the four seals will still remain in Kira's mind and it'll be his. Why I choose you? Didn't you say that you will commit yourself to help the child? I trust you. And also, this will be the last time I'll be helping him directly like this."

"Why…?" Mwu still look uncertain.

"I told you before: we both wanted to help Kira. And right now, the best thing you can do is to make him stronger. I agree. But I do not consider lending him my power every time he's in trouble is a good way to help him stronger. So, this will be the last time."

"What if he dies? Wouldn't you…"

"I'll make this clear: Kira's days are darker still in the future. He will need help to get through it… he will need all our help."

And Mwu decided to leave it at that.

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Meanwhile, the search party led by Murrue finally found Mwu. The man was carrying the unconscious Kira in his arms. Both men looked like they just went through hell. Kira's gang, who also comes along immediately came running at their friend.

"Mwu? W… what happened to you two?"

"I'm… I'm okay."

"What about Kira-kun?" Tolle gasped seeing Kira's unconscious state.

"H… he'll be fine… he… he saved my life." The Captain seems a little bit delirious.

"Mwu? Are you okay?"

"Yes… I'm fine! Kira saved my life… so I'm fine."

Murrue wondered what happened in the forest, but seeing the tired look in Mwu's face, she decided to leave it at that.

"So… he saved your life?" Milly asked one last time.

"Yes. He saved my life." Mwu take one last look at Kira and smiled.

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And that's the lot.

Ja ne.