Freedom Samurai RETURNS!

Yea, I know it's WAAY past August! Sorry I've been gone so long, but I've been busy with other stories…and writer's block. But over the time I've stopped this story…my writing has gotten better, sorta. The chapters may seem different, kinda, maybe, sorta, yeah…Anyway, thanks for not running after me and maiming me you glorious readers!

blueflamesofsadness, oh how perceptive you are! You get a cookie for realizing where I got my inspiration for Darien!

Zordon...I'm not sure if this counts as soon...but you won't need that mob or Celestial help...heheh...we cool? (That goes for all my other glorious readers as well...who hopefully have been patiently waiting, o.o:)

But, though most of you have, hopefully been a little patient, someone has really been ticking me off. Noein, I get you've been anxious, BUT THE POINTLESS REVIEWS ON MY OTHER STORIES ARE ANNOYING! I CAN'T JUST MAGICALLY COME UP WITH INSPIRATION FOR A CHAPTER! IT'S CALLED WRITER'S BLOCK AND I HAD IT FOR THIS STORY FOR A LONG TIME! GOSH, YOU MAY BE A WONDERFUL FAN OF Freedom Samurai, BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU CRUSHED MY HOPES WITH A POINTLESS REVIEW IN MY STORIES! DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT REVIEWS ARE TO ME!? VERY!!! AND YOU CRUSHED MY HOPES OF GETTING ANOTHER REVIEW! Gosh, I'm sorry, but you were really getting on my nerves.

In other news, I sent my co-hosts back to my mind where they can wreak havoc on my Braincells. Tiffany…well…she's got a thing for penguins…so I left her in Antarctica…Anyway, on to the long awaited chapter.

Chapter 13 Raine

He remembered falling. So quickly and loudly through the air, it seemed to crush him. He then remembered the sun, blindingly bright in his eyes, before something brushed his back and everything around him went dark.

Cracking open his eyes slowly, he felt a small relief after finding it dimly lit around him. Not that he knew where he was or anything, but he guessed that if it had been bright, his eyes would be too sensitive to the light. Like after going to bed late and waking up with the sun practically getting all up in your face. Not fun—especially after a night of drinking.

He groaned, and brought a hand up to rub his temples, but hissed in pain. Just moving his arm slightly hurt like a hundred needles pricking his skin. At that moment, he heard a sound like a door sliding open. He tried to turn his head towards the sound of footsteps that was coming towards him, but it was too painful to try.

Closing his eyes, he hissed in pain when fingers brushed over a cut on his forehead. He felt the fingers withdraw, and then felt a damp cloth placed on his forehead. Opening his eyes, he found that his vision was a little blurry, but he could still make out someone leaning over him. He thought he saw a pair of ruby eyes, and closed his eyes again after feeling exhaustion settling in.

"Shinn…" he mumbled, saying the name of the only person he knew to have red eyes.

The figure above him seemed to sit up straighter at the mention of the name, but didn't say anything. A pale hand reached out and gently brushed silver bangs from the man's face. Thin lips pulled up into a smile, and the figure stood up and left the room.

Mizu followed closely behind Kira as the older brunette walked slowly down the thin trail. Dearka was with them, and following them from the back. It had taken some time, but Kira was able to persuade Lacus and his sister to go with Athrun and go towards Novemberus City. The Karasu Forest spread out over the mountain pass and the underlying land below, where Yzak had fallen. While the others were going to go to the City, the ninja and other two Hukari would try to find Yzak. They'd spent the rest of yesterday convincing the others it'd be best, and they'd insisted that they wait till the next morning to search for their, quite literally, fallen comrade. It would give them plenty of day light to go on, but though it wasn't said, it was a silent thought to all of them that it lowered Yzak's chances for survival.

Taking another step forward, Mizu heard a small sound, like glass cracking, and then felt his foot slipping. He gasped loudly as he began to teeter off the edge of the trail, but Dearka reached out and grabbed the boy, pulling him against his body as the rock before them crumbled away.

"Are you all right Mizu?" Kira asked.

The boy nodded, and Dearka helped him cross over the small area now between the trail. He himself jumped it easily. But before they continued, Kira made sure Mizu was directly behind him, nearly at his side, and close to the cliff side they were walking along. This way if the boy slipped again, he'd have Kira or the rock wall to get a grip on. Then there was the added assurance of Dearka right behind him.

The trio continued on in silence for some time. It seemed forever to Mizu till they finally reached the forest floor, but once there, he looked up and realized it'd be just that much harder to climb all the way back up with an injured ninja.

'That is, if we find him at all. Or if he's even alive.' The boy thought to himself, and shuddered.

"About how far from where he fell are we Kira?" Dearka asked, his face unreadable.

Kira looked up at the sky, and then back at the cliff, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"I'd guess, about three and a half miles southeast maybe?" he proposed.

The blonde nodded, and continued to follow Kira as he seemed to travel an unseen path towards their guess of a destination.

Again, it was silent and Mizu didn't like all the quiet. It was one thing when on the mountain trail how he'd been coaxing himself along, but now they were completely safe. Yet, though he was having the internal battle with himself about the silence, it was still dead quiet. But the boy nearly jumped out of his skin when a bid in a tree flew up from the braches, rattling off in bird talk. His action made the ninja chuckle softly, but other than that and his earlier squeak of surprise, there was still no noise.

Of course, had there been, they wouldn't have heard the sound of rushing water ahead. Speeding up slightly, the three soon broke out of the cover of the trees to find a rushing river. A few feet down, it made a jagged turn, and sharp rocks and frothing rapids met their gaze. Beyond that, before the forest once again cut their vision of the river, they saw more twists and bends with jagged rocks protruding from the river bed and causing more rapids.

Looking towards Kira nervously, Dearka asked him if this was were Yzak had fallen.

The lavender eyed man glanced up towards the cliff edge, and inspected it, noting that the water from the river came from a large crack in the mountain about halfway down. The man looked back to the blonde, and nodded solemnly.

Looking between the two men, and back at the river, Mizu winced. Wherever Yzak was, this river had played a part in taking him there.

Athrun groaned again, and tried to keep himself calm as the child on his shoulders laughed happily. Kitsu was once again crafting Athrun's hair into one of her abstract masterpieces. Cagalli had taken the place as lead in the procession, but occasionally glanced back over her shoulder to watch the blue haired man suffer. And at the hands of a five year old girl no less. Shinn seemed to be enjoying the man's suffering, and Stellar was giggling behind her hand. Apparently on Stellar Standards, the scene was cute.

Turning to face the path once again with an amused grin on her face, Cagalli looked over at Lacus, and her grin faded. The long haired girl seemed troubled, and her right hand was continually stroking the blue stone on her pendant. Knowing the reason of her uneasiness, the blonde woman sighed.

"Lacus, he'll be fine. He'll take care of Mizu just fine, and we'll all meet up at Novemberus City soon enough," Cagalli stated, trying to appease the troubled girl.

Lacus glanced over at her and smiled brightly. Cagalli could instantly tell it was forced.

"I know that Cagalli! He is Kira after all, I'm not worried at all." she added, her voice softening slightly.

Cagalli furrowed her brow as she stared at the blue eyed girl. Without Kira, she seemed to have lost her luster. She didn't seem to just…glow, like she did. Her lips didn't even seem able to pull up into a real smile, and her eyes…Cagalli could have winced when she saw the way they looked when the girl had tried to smile at her. Her eyes seemed to be cloudy and empty. The blonde looked away and forwards on the path they were following.

'Without my brother…' the Tiger Lily Hukari thought to herself. 'Lacus just isn't…Lacus.'

When he opened his eyes again, he closed them quickly and tightly while snapping out a curse loudly. The room had been filled with light, and it was not a pleasant sight to his eyes.

Hearing someone chuckle, he opened his eyes again slowly, and saw a figure standing in front of a window. He couldn't make them out very well, but he guessed it was a woman because she was the only source in the room the chuckle could have come from, and her kimono showed the outlines of her body, which were quite feminine.

Watching as she turned around, the man felt his breath catch in his throat. The figure was, indeed a woman.

"I'm glad you've woken up. It seems you're feeling better." the woman stated with a cheery voice.

She didn't wait for a reply before turning and pulling thin curtains closed over the window. The light in the room now wasn't as bright, but the man lying on the futon didn't really notice, for his eyes were still on the woman. Something about her was strange to him, and when she walked over, he was able to confirm his suspicions, and get a good look at her face.

Her hair was a dark ebony, and her thick locks flowed down to the small of her back. She also had very pale skin, very much like a doll's, but her skin wasn't flawless like a doll's. He could make out the thin line of a scar over her left eye brow. Her eyes had an exotic, slightly almond shape to them, and her iris's were like jeweled drops of blood. And her lips were thin, yet still beautiful, and a very pale pink color.

His eyes traveled down her creamy neck to where her black and white kimono started. He saw it wasn't anything too special, and that it was only a black summer kimono with a white disk pattern. Of course, his eyes traveled lower, and noticed that the woman was very, well endowed.

"My name is Raine," she said with a soft smile, ignoring the fact that he wasn't staring at her face, but her torso area.

The man woke from his trance, and looked back up to her face, narrowing his eyes.

"What exactly are you planning to do with me?" he asked warily with a hint of anger in his voice.

Raine raised an eyebrow, and gave him a confusing expression.

"Well, I'll be taking another look at your wounds, and I'll bandage them after putting on some medicinal herbs, why?" she asked.

The silver haired man stared at her cautiously, before sitting up. Sitting, he was taller than her kneeling form. He gazed at her, wondering if she was telling the truth. It only took a moment for him to realize he didn't have any enemies in this region of Japan, and let out a collective sigh.

Looking back at her confused expression, he shrugged.

"Never mind what I said…" he mumbled.

She nodded, and then smiled brightly again when her eyes drifted over to a tray she'd brought in earlier.

"Would you like some tea, um…I'm sorry, I don't know your name yet," she said, still smiling.

The man seemed to study her for a moment before replying, "Yzak. My name is Yzak. And, no thank you," he politely declined her offer of tea.

Even though his throat was dry, he didn't want to drink tea. It was such a whimsy drink, and he wasn't about to drink tea just because some strange, yet beautiful woman was offering it to him.

Yzak then looked up in realization when he remembered his fall from the cliff side. Where were the Hukari? Had they been able to get rid of those shadow bastards? Had Dearka found that Princess? And, most importantly, how did he survive that fall?

Raine brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and tilted her head to the side. Almost as if she knew part of what he was thinking, she spoke.

"Are you wondering how I found you?" she inquired.

Yzak looked over at her, and nodded after a moment.

"Well, I was coming back from a walk, when I noticed something near a shallow bank in the river. When I walked towards it, I saw it was a person: you. You were bloodied up, I guessed from the rocks in the rapids. So, I brought you here. My home is only a little ways down where the river empties into the Sea of Tears. Then, I cleaned your wounds and put a balm into them. Then I just watched you all night, and you've woken up twice this morning." she explained.

Yzak listened quietly, and then looked down at her hands folded properly in her lap.

"So," he asked quietly. "Why exactly are you helping me?"

"Well that's an easy question. It's because you needed help, so I helped you." she answered warmly.

"Even if I might be a dangerous person? Even if I might kill you?" Yzak ventured.

Raine raised and eyebrow, and put on a playful pout. Though it killed him to admit it, she looked cute like that.

"Well then, I'd ask you to wait till I've finished my tea, and I'd offer you a cup as well." she declared, breaking into a fit of giggles afterwards.

Yzak didn't know why, but hearing her laugh was like hearing angel bells ringing. It was soothing. For a reason unknown to him, he also allowed a chuckle to escape his lips.

Raine reached over towards the tray, and pulled a roll of white bandages from next to one of the cups.

"Now, I'll need you to sit still while I bandage that wound on your chest." she said brightly.

Yzak stopped his chuckling, and looked at her with a dead serious face.

"That's all right, I can bandage it myself,"

"Nonsense, I'll do it for you!" Raine stated, leaning towards him with a length of the bandage unwound.

"No, really! It's okay!" he shouted, inching away from her slightly. "You know what? They won't even need bandaging! So, let's just skip that step…" he mumbled hopefully.

"You're wounds aren't serious, but I still have to bandage them! So stop squirming," Raine demanded, her eyes flaming in impatience.

Yzak gulped, utterly frightened.

'And by a woman…' he added silently to himself.

Stellar glanced over at Shinn, worried over his saddened look.

"Shinn, are you all right?" she asked curiously.

The black haired teen nodded, then shook his head.

"Well, I forgot to ask Kira, about visiting," he began, but Stellar cut him off.

"Well, you could ask him once we find Novemberus City. He might let us go alone, and meet up with the Hukari at another city," the blonde suggested.

"You think so? I'm not so sure he'd want us separated though. And then there's Miss Lacus. I'm sure she'd be worrying about us the entire time, and then Kira would be angry for us causing her worry." Shinn explained dejectedly.

Stellar watched him, and reached her hand out and grasped his. Looking up from the ground, Shinn looked at her curiously. But instead of answering him, the blonde girl leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. When she pulled away, both teens had light pink blushes on their cheeks. The girl smiled brightly and averted her gaze.

"I'm sure Kira will be okay with it, as long as we promise to be careful." she said again.

Shinn nodded absently, his cheek warm where the girl's lips had brushed. He looked forward, and gazed upon the others. Athrun was taking a break from Kitsu and walking beside Cagalli. Miriallia was now carrying the small girl on her back, and they seemed to be holding a humorous conversation. But when the ruby eyed teen looked over at the pink haired Healer, he felt a strange pang of sadness hit him.

The girl had taken to walking a bit to the side, not too far from Cagalli and Athrun, but a good distance away. Stellar seemed to have noticed too, because before Shinn knew it, the magenta eyed girl was dragging him over to the lonesome girl.

"Come on, I can't stand to be in an unhappy mood right now! We all need to be happy, because Kira and them will find Yzak and meet us in Novemberus City, and Kira will let us go see," but Stellar stopped when they fell into step beside the pink haired girl.

"Hey Lacus!" she greeted happily.

The blue eyed girl seemed to take a moment to break out of her thoughts, and turned to smile at them. Both archers could tell that her smile wasn't genuine.

"Do you need something, Stellar?" Lacus asked.

Stellar shook her head, and shrugged. "We just wanted to walk with you since you seemed so lonely and sad."

Lacus smiled gently, and Stellar was relieved to see it was some-what true.

"Well thank you," she replied.

Her hand still clutched her pendant tightly, finding comfort in the small stone. So what if she was overreacting to Kira's absence? It's not like she'd never see him again, but it still felt weird without him around. She unconsciously recalled the night back at the castle, and remembered how strongly Kira had told her he loved her. Feeling her lips pull up into a relieved, serene smile, she cleared her head of her paranoia and took a deep breath. All she had to do was cling to her man as though attached once they were all together again. And then later, once they'd set up camp, they could cuddle…and partake in some other private activities.

Shinn and Stellar watched in amused confusion as the older girl blushed at her own thoughts.

Leaning over to Shinn, Stellar smiled brightly and whispered, "See? I knew she'd be happier if we walked with her!"

Shinn nodded, but he couldn't help but think that they weren't what was causing the pinkette to lighten up.

Mizu sighed as he continued down the river. Kira had told them to spread out to search for the silver haired man. Mizu was to follow the river, since there'd virtually be no way he could actually get lost, while Kira and Dearka searched the woods on either side of the river, incase Yzak had somehow gotten out of the water.

"Yzak!?" Mizu called out, just in case the man was nearby.

He'd already been searching all morning, and it was approaching lunch time. Feeling his stomach growl, he stopped and rubbed his aching belly. He'd only had piece of bread and some water for breakfast that morning. Of course, that was what was for breakfast every morning, but that was beside the point. It was now practically lunchtime and he was hungry. But, the options of either finding food that could possibly be poisonous, or continue to search for the probably dieing ninja weighed heavily on his shoulders. Deciding to stop for a moment and consider, the boy stood and lifted his hand to his chin to ponder.

But while thinking, he heard a twig snap in the forest to his left. Turning, he looked in curiously.

"Dearka?" he asked. No answer, and some leaves rustled.

"Yzak!?" the boy asked, his eyes widening as he took a step towards the large bushes near the tree line.

But no answer came, and Mizu wondered if Yzak was too weak to speak. Calling the older man's name again, the boy took another step towards the bushes, which stopped rustling. The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion. Had it just been a forest animal? But before he could confirm his suspicions, a tall figure burst from the shrubbery, making the boy back up with shock and surprise. It was one of the shadow ninja from yesterday!

Mizu gasped as the dark figure lunged at him, and he cried out when he slipped off the slippery river bank and fell into the rushing water. Water flooded into his mouth and it stung greatly and gave him a headache was the cold water rushed up his nostrils. But instead of flailing his arms and legs wildly, he knew he had little time before the current pulled him against one of the rocks. But his lungs felt like they were being crushed, and he knew he needed to resurface for air.

Trying to move his arms together, he swam upwards and broke through the water's surface. Taking a deep breath, Mizu looked over to the riverside, and saw the shadow ninja running along the edge, and he was stringing a bow. Glancing quickly in the direction the river was pulling him, Mizu saw a large rock jutting out of the water a ways away from a bundle of rapids. Making a quick decision, he readied himself, and just before he passed the large rock, he reached out with both hands and tried to get a hold on it. His right hand slipped over a smooth surface caused by erosion on the rock, but his left hand was able to get a good grip on a split piece of rough rock on the back face of the stone.

Using it as leverage, he quickly brought his right hand up to get a grip on the same place on the rock, and pulled himself towards the stone. Once there, he realized that the stone nearly cut the current's power in half if you were directly in back of it, and Mizu found time to breathe. But only for a second because the shadow ninja was aiming his bow directly at him and the arrow in its grasp didn't look too friendly.

Glancing towards the forest on the opposite bank of the ninja, Mizu wondered if he'd be able to make it across before getting rammed into the rocks by the rapids. Hearing a bowstring snap back into place, Mizu heard a splash directly to his right. He looked up briefly to see the soldier fitting another arrow into its bow, and guessed that the arrow had missed the target (him), and hit the water instead. For some reason, he knew the shadow ninja wouldn't miss again.

Putting everything he had on chance, the boy let go of the rock and tried to swim towards the opposite riverbank. But the current was pulling him too fast, and he could sense before he hit it that a large rock was in his path. Not wanting to hurt his arm, Mizu tried to maneuver around so that his back would hit the rock, but thought better of it and tried to change his mind. He was halfway through turning again, when he felt an immense pain in his side, and the wind knocked out of him. His side had hit the rock pretty hard, but it was just close enough for him to be able to push off from it and grasp onto the riverbank before another he hit another rock.

Using the help of a perfectly placed tree root growing on the bank, Mizu hefted himself up over the edge faster than he thought he would and pulled himself to his feet lightning quick; wincing only slightly from the pain in his arm. But just as he ran for cover from the trees this side of the river provided, he heard the threatening sound of a bowstring snapping back in place around the same time a steel tipped arrow made it's way into the back of his right thigh.

Letting out a scream of pain, the brunette stumbled some as he tried to hurry forward into the forest. But just as he hid behind the thick trunk of a tree and tried to catch his breath, he heard a noise much like cloth flapping in the wind, and heard the sound of something heavy landing on the riverbank he'd just so desperately clawed his way to for safety. Feeling his heart pounding in his throat, and hearing slow-yet sure-footsteps coming towards where he hid, he slowly reached into his wet haori, and reached for one of the daggers he kept there.

What happened next seemed to be in slow motion for the eleven year old. He pulled the dagger free from its sheath easily, and jumped out from behind the tree slightly off balance. But it didn't stop his blade from sinking into the shadow ninja's stomach. It sunk deeper when the body doubled over, and Mizu felt his hands shaking as he withdrew his dagger and stared in disbelief and shock as the figure fell forward, and disappeared into the shadows.

The boy slowly returned his dagger to its sheath, before sinking down to the ground, his back against the tree he'd been hiding behind. The arrow still lodged in his thigh was incredulously somehow forgotten, and the pain it was causing was pushed to the back of the boy's mind. Though it wasn't really a person, (which he was thankful for). that shadow ninja had been his first kill. 'And my last…' the boy hoped, never wanting to feel blood trickling on his hands from a person's body. Blood from a wound he'd inflicted. If he ever saw a real human being's body fall to the ground like that…he didn't know what he'd do.

'But what if it was one of the Red Samurai who'd burned down Sakura Village, and killed Mother and Father?' a small voice inside his head asked. 'Or what if it had been someone trying to kill Kitsu? Or Miss Lacus? Or anyone of the others? What if it was Rau's body that fell to your feet?' the voice continued.

Putting his head in his hands, Mizu felt hot tears burn underneath his eyelids. He didn't know…he just didn't! Yes, he wanted to avenge his parents, and his village. Yes, he most certainly wanted to protect his sister and the girl he looked up to as a mother. He wanted to protect those close to him, and exact his revenge on those who'd wronged what was precious to him…but that didn't mean he wanted to kill…

The boy was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a twig snap behind him, and some leaves rustle. Turning his head worriedly to stare off in the direction the noises were coming from, he visibly paled at the thought of more shadow ninja. But relief settled in slightly when a figure pushed through a crowd of thick shrubbery, revealing itself to not be a shadow ninja. But who Mizu did see surprised him.

A young girl, probably around his age, now stood only a few feet from him, staring at him with wide, rose colored eyes.

Looking her over, Mizu saw felt his heart skip a beat. The girl had long, magenta colored hair which she'd pulled up into a high ponytail, and a thin red ribbon held it in place. The kimono she wore was a pale pink color with a dark pink floral pattern on the left sleeve. The kimono only came down to just above her knees though, and its sleeves were only down to her elbows. A dark red obi was tied around her waist, and nestled at her hip, Mizu saw she carried a sword.

The girl's eyes seemed to be scanning over him as well, and when she saw the blood leaking into the grass from his right thigh. With a concerned expression, she ran towards him, and fell to her knees at his side.

"A-are you all right?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

Mizu stopped his staring and glanced down to his leg, which the girl was now inspecting.

"Uh, yeah. I-I'm fine," he replied.

The girl looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, and she reached forward and ripped the arrow from his body, getting him to hiss violently in pain.

"See, never trust a boy to tell you he's all right," she mumbled quietly, reaching into her obi and pulling out a small red scarf.

Mizu watched curiously as she tied it tightly around his thigh and the bleeding wound.

"Um…thank you…?" he began, not sure of what to call her.

"My name's May," she stated softly, smiling.

"Uh, my name's Mizu!" the brown eyed boy said quickly, feeling a warm sensation in his face.

May smiled, and stood up before offering her hand to him. Mizu took it gratefully, and grit his teeth as he stood. The girl helped balance him, and he smiled to her brightly.

"Thank you very much, May."

"You're welcome, but I wish to ask you, who gave you that wound? And why you're all wet?"

Mizu froze. How could he tell a near complete stranger why he had an arrow in his thigh? It's not like he could just tell her that he'd been fighting a shadow ninja who just happened to be in the woods since they'd all been destroyed yesterday, except for the one that fell off the cliff with Yzak…

"Yzak!" Mizu exclaimed, remembering why he'd been near the river in the first place.

"Um, who?" May asked, confused.

"I was supposed to be following the river and looking for Yzak!"

"Who's Yzak?" May asked again, now slightly amused by the boy's shouting. "And why would you be following the river?"

Mizu turned to May, his eyes concerned and serious.

"May, where does this river lead?" he asked.

"Um, I believe it flows into the Sea of Tears, why?" she asked, confused still.

"How far off is that?" Mizu asked quickly.

"Um, only a little ways down the river. But why do you need to know Mizu? And who's Yzak?"

The boy shook his head, saying there was no time to explain. He then tried to walk away from the tree, and towards the river, when he stumbled. He would have fallen to the ground if May hadn't leaned forward to catch him.

"Easy there, you can't just go off on your own like that! Your leg needs to be looked at, and soon! I can take you," May explained, helping the boy balance, but was cut off before she could finish.

"This is nothing! Trust me." Mizu replied, pointing to his leg. "What is important is that you take me to where the river meets the sea!"

May seemed quite confused, but nonetheless helped the boy and supported him while they traveled down to their destination at the end of the river. It took about twenty minutes, but it seemed hours to Mizu. Continuously in his head, he repeated to himself that Yzak would have to be at the base of the river, he just had to!

But once the pair reached the river's end, Mizu looked on at the river as it pushed into a delta, and then flowed freely into the Sea of Tears. There was no Yzak, and no sign that he'd been there either. But what did puzzle the boy was the fact that there was an old wooden bridge that linked the two banks of the river together, just over a small rapid.

"Mizu, I don't know what you're doing out here, but your leg is hurt and you need to get it looked at. I'm staying with a really nice girl who could look at it for you," May explained, leading the boy towards the bridge.

They hadn't taken a single step on it though, before the two eleven year olds heard Mizu's name called by two very different voices, but both close by. In moments, a blonde haired man dressed in black appeared from the forest at the opposite riverbank of the two kids, and a brown haired man appeared close behind them.

May looked on in surprise and fright, but Mizu looked relieved. The brunette walked over to them, and took Mizu from the girl's grasp pulling him up into his arms once he saw the bloody scarf around the boy's thigh.

"Mizu, what happened? I heard a scream, and hurried over as soon as I could." Kira explained worriedly, his lavender eyes full of concern. Dearka appeared a few feet away from May on the bridge. The girl was looking between the two men and Mizu with utter confusion on her face.

"Mizu…?" she began, unsure of what was going on.

Dearka and Kira glanced over at her, as though just realizing she was there. They both then turned to Mizu, and asked who she was.

Mizu looked between the men and the girl, before swallowing and replying to their questions.

"Um, I was hit by an arrow, and she found me and helped me. Kira, Dearka, this is May. Uh, May, vice versa." the boy answered, trying to make some sense.

The three people peered at each other for a moment, before May directed her attention to Kira.

"Sir, Mizu is hurt and it might be serious. There's a house a little ways down the beach where I'm staying at. There's a girl there that can take a look at his wound," she explained, wanting to get help for Mizu quickly.

Kira nodded, his eyes inspecting the girl before him. Though he could see she just wanted to help, he could sense something…strange, yet familiar…about her.

Seeing his nod of approval, the girl walked across the bridge with Dearka and Kira in tow as she led them down to the beach. Her bare feet didn't kick up any sand as she hurried on a path only she knew. Soon enough though, just as she said, there was a house nestled in front of the forest only twenty or thirty feet away from the sandy shore, and May seemed to quicken her pace.

Soon enough though, the foursome were standing on the elevated porch of the house before the sliding door that led inside. May quickly slid it open, revealing a large room with two occupants. The rose eyed girl stepped inside, followed by her three male companions, who stared incredulously at the man sitting in the room, who looked just as equally surprised.

May, however, seemed to pay him no mind, and instead addressed the black haired woman sitting across from the man.

"Raine, I have a friend who needs some help." she explained, gesturing behind her to the boy held in the older brunette's arms.

Dearka broke out of his stupor of seeing the man, and turned to the woman, his eyes widening even more.

"Raine?" the blonde asked, his voice not hiding his disbelief.

Okay, I have to say I'm proud of this chapter, though I can't wait till I get Kira back together with Lacus. It's taken me about all week to write this since I kept typing bits and pieces on and off, but I still think this will make you all very happy that Freedom Samurai is updated. And also while typing this, I've been brainstorming future chapters, and I can guarantee that there will definitely be another chapter soon, maybe in the middle of January at the latest.

Anyway, now Yzak is reunited with the group, and we've been introduced to Raine and May. Wonder what these girls will do for us, huh? And not to mention Mizu doesn't seem so excited about his first kill, then again he's only a kid. I plan to have a cute scene with him on this topic next chapter. Speaking of which, I believe in the next chapter, everyone will be reunited in Novemberus City, if I don't manage to screw myself up again…anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and I promise not to let you beautiful, precious, wonderful, faithful readers hang over the edge for so long again! (It's been nearly six months! Holy crap I'm terrible…)

With love,

Sam