A noise alerted Suzu, and he gestured behind him. He had learned from the 'incident' before that he could not just stop and expect the rest of the team to. That blunder had left himself and Ryu vulnerable to an attack by the deadly snakes that had haunted them in one of their battles, and at his direction, the three behind him stopped running and crept forward to his side.

He hesitantly glanced around the corner of the cave, and right into the approaching runners of the army. There were only five, but at the moment that was enough. This was it; their first human kill; the final test to see if they were ready to become SeeDs. He felt like he was going to be sick.

The enemy's location was just before the locater device insisted the team be or could possibly be this area they were in. Suzu wasn't quite sure but he was sure as hell not going to look at the moment.

These… people … could not be allowed to live and deliver their message to the larger groups, surrounding his group on two sides. The larger groups were far enough away in the caverns that there would be no chance that the small student squads would encounter them and be overwhelmed. The rest of the SeeD and Dollet armies were depending on the candidates to stop the messages and cut off the communication between groups, but Suzu had just realized that they were humans, and they looked like him. They were people too; involved in a conflict far above them… like his group. 'I can't think like that, not right now! I can do this! I have to. We have to.'

He slid back and met his team several feet away from the cornering wall. If all four went to look around the side it would have caused some noise, and that now, more then ever, had to be avoided. He gestured them closer and all four formed a small huddle.

"There's five people ahead, armed with guns." He whispered. "From the enemy army. They're runners."

Kayden and Kaidia nodded, their eyes however flickered their uncertainty and their fear of this situation. Ryu closed his eyes tightly and tightened his grip on his shotgun, seeming to murmur a prayer to something only he knew of. None gave voice to their reactions to his news, but he could feel the tension of the group raise to new heights. He knew them well enough to know that they all realized the significance of his sentences. All knew what they had to face in that moment; what they had to overcome, and there was no backing down.

"They're coming this way. We surprise them when they round the corner. Fast, quiet, and quick. Then it's over." He whispered again.

The three he was addressing nodded slowly, their reluctance for what was about to occur plainly visible. His reluctance burned stronger and stronger as he gazed into the shadowed eyes of his companions. This mission was what they were waiting for; what they had spent an entire year building up for the challenge of, and now when he was faced with it, all he wanted to do was run back to Garden.

He slipped forward and drifted back up to the corner of the wall, readying his shuriken in his throwing stance. He held it so that it was balanced defensively in front of his chest, ready to be flickered towards the approaching enemy. Only this time it was not a monster, and this time it mattered.

Behind him, Ryu prepared his shot gun, trembling faintly as he did, causing the entire gun to shake under his uncertain hand. Flanking Ryu were Kayden and Kaidia. Both were steady, holding their gunblades to their sides, preparing to rush the confused enemy before order could be made of the chaos.

Suzu swallowed once, and mentally began to count the seconds that it would take for the men to round the corner. He had reached fifteen when he saw the shadows coming closer. He closed in, beginning to switch to the throwing stance he had used before, praying he would not miss. 'Here we go…'

Before any other coherent thought could come, the fight had begun. The shadows rounded the corner and the five froze in confusion at the four teenagers standing in their intended path. Suzu swallowed quickly and flicked his wrist out, his weapon hurtling through the air and striking the first soldier right in the chest. The man fell, before he really had any grasp on what just had happened to him… dead.

The shuriken ripped through the man's heart and dark red blood seeped forth and coated the shimmering metal in its colour. Changing him from a student at Garden to someone who had just killed his first person, his heart felt as if a giant fist had enclosed upon it and as the person he had just killed died, it was as if his heart too was desperately beating, trying to circulate non existent blood to his deprived brain and organs.

The four humans left stared at the group and then at the body of their leader and turned to run back to their comrades to most likely warn them of the presence of SeeD. Having accomplished that, they would then contact the larger groups and warn them of an upcoming surprise attack. As a result the Gardens' plan would fail, and the Dollet army would fall.

They could not let this happen.

Behind him, the bullets sprayed over his shoulder, missing by majority but occasionally a shot would hit a body and a cry and more human blood would be spilt. Suzu stood there in shock at what he had done, staring down in horror at his weapon, embedded in the body of a man who could have been his brother. He was dimly aware of Kaidia and Kayden charging past, each without seemingly caring, and attacked the fleeing group.

Kayden went left as Kaidia circled ahead of the four and between them the group could not escape. Now that his friends were out there, Ryu became slightly more effective, his aim improved, as there was now a danger that by deliberately missing the enemy soldiers he may hit a friend. Placed with this choice, the dark-blond boy chose to assist his friends. But he was still not able to deliver a fatal shot. 'Unlike me…'

Instead, the shot gun specialist aimed and pierced the legs and arms of the men, and the ones he hit, were squeezed between the flashing gunblades and their blood leaked out and onto the floor.

It was furious and it was quick. None were left alive. When the four lay dead and the two responsible for their deaths were only breathing hard in reaction to the fight, but nothing else, no injuries and seemingly no regrets. Kayden was staring at the bodies, with no expression on his face, but his hazel eyes were flickering over and over again, past the two he had killed, as if he could not believe what had just occurred. Kaidia was looking down into the long blunt edge of her sword, as if afraid to look up and see the carnage she had caused with the weapon she was holding. He wondered if, out of in the entire group, he was the only one with anything resembling human emotions. Kaidia finally made her choice and looked directly into the faces of the men she had killed. He just wished he could look away.

Behind him, he heard Ryu fall to his knees, and lay trembling on the ground, his shotgun lying forgotten on his knees as he buried his head into his hands. He could still not move, not for anything. He could hear himself crying internally, wishing to take back his last action. Wishing he could help the dead man live and breathe again. The one that was lying in front of him, the one who's death was on his conscience, the one he had killed. Suzu felt his knees buckle.

"We… should clean up here." Kaidia murmured almost mechanically as she set her Gunblade into its holster.

Kayden nodded with as much life as the girl had spoken, his eyes never leaving the bodies. But it was a few minutes later when he began to assist her with disposing of the fallen men. There was silence as the two, using their training under Garden, cleaned up and removed any trace that anything was amiss. Both Gunblade specialists worked in silence, neither speaking to each other or to any other member of the group. It was as if they were machines; made to kill with no emotion. Suzu realized that is what they needed to learn in combat with humans; to learn how to look at someone in the eye and still be able to kill them, and then to continue as if nothing else mattered.

He stood there, watching as the two cleaned up and realized he had failed.

"Kayden, can you check to see our location?" Kaidia asked. "I'll get the last one."

"Alright." Kayden muttered.

The tall boy pulled out the locater device and walked a little ahead into the cave. Kaidia approached the body he was standing near, and hesitantly reached down and gently pulled the red gleaming weapon from its host, gripping the hidden handles carefully. She then wiped the sharp edges with a cloth before holding it out for him to take.

Suzu stared down at the offered weapon. It had killed someone; ripped through their unprotected flesh and drained them of his life blood. He had killed someone; not the shuriken. He was the one that threw it and it was his fault that that person had died.

"Sir." She almost whispered, looking into his eyes.

In that moment, he saw the pain in hers; the pain and the confusion. But Kaidia had won over hers, while he was lost. Almost numbly, he reached out and accepted the cursed weapon back. He used to love the look of the dangerous gleaming circular metal shuriken, but now he hated the sight of it.

She backed away as soon as the weapon left her hand and continued cleaning up the man he had murdered. 'I… killed him. Is this what it means to be a SeeD? To have to kill people? That could have been me…'

As she finished, Kayden walked back from where he had been standing and he continued to the girl's side before turning to address him.

"Sir, the area ahead is the location we are meant to secure."

Suzu stared at the boy. How could he be taking this so calmly? How could Kayden have just moved on like he did; like nothing had just happened? How could they possibly expect him too? 'It's not fair!'

"Are there any other exits to that area, other then the one we're in?" Kaidia asked.

"No. Everyone leaving or coming to deliver a message would have to take that path. There's no other way out of the area the group is holding. They're in a corner, and this is the entrance and the exit." Kayden explained.

"Okay." The only female of the group answered and their gazes locked on him for a moment.

He just looked at them, not really hearing what they were saying. It was so distant; as if they were talking from a great distance, their words did not matter anymore. Ryu regained his senses and slowly climbed to his feet and looked around.

Kaidia and Kayden started to walk with careful feet to the area where they were to be. A moment later, the shot gun specialist followed his friends.

'How can they do this?' Suzu finally thought to himself. 'It's impossible. They want us to be killing machines? Is that what we are?' And to his horror he found himself following the group into the area where they were sanctioned to be by their Commander.

He arrived in time to see Kaidia slipping back from the far wall to the two males that stood in the center of the room. He joined the two as she did, but could not say a word.

"The enemy is ahead." She reported.

'Enemy? They're people too; don't you realize that!' Suzu mentally shouted.

The three gave him a long look. Kayden looked curious and Ryu began to look slightly more panicked as all he did was stare back. Kaidia sighed, and lowered her gaze, seemingly accepting something. He knew they needed him to lead them, but right now, he just couldn't.

"Sir, if I could make a suggestion?"

He nodded, still staring at the cold girl.

"This is a prime location to hold. Kayden could go back and watch the way we came. It is a straight passage and we would have warning of an impending group. And I would watch the group ahead and be ready for a leaving group. You and Ryu would stay in the center ready to assist either of us."

He nodded to her plan; grateful that someone else had taken over what was supposed to be his position. With her leading the group, it would give him the time he desperately needed to recover his calm before he could take control of his squad once more. Kayden and Kaidia moved away and crept carefully to their locations, leaving him and Ryu in the middle.

There was silence for what felt like hours, but was really only minutes. Suzu continued to shove his emotions back under control, and steadied his racing heart. Near him, Ryu had soothed himself enough that his trembling grip on his gun had relaxed, and it stood at his side, ready for an attack. 'Well, we've gone through the worst now…' Suzu thought to himself. 'Nothing could possibly be worse than that.'

A wave of the hand came from Kaidia, and Ryu took the opportunity to quietly alert Kayden to the upcoming group. Soon, all four joined back together in the center of the room.

"How many?" he asked.

"Five." She whispered back.

"Same plan." He whispered.

All four crept forward and assembled themselves in order at the turn in this cave. His heart was beating so rapidly now, that he was afraid that the upcoming soldiers would hear the noise. He could hear them talking to each other, none expecting the attack that was about to come. None would know what hit them.

"Were did Xius go? He and his team should have been back by now." One was asking.

The one he killed now had a name.

"I don't know." Another responded. "He probably got held up by Lieutenant Helirs. You know what he's like. He needs some real bad."

"Don't say things like that…the weasel would report it to him, along with everything else he claims you said that you didn't say."

And as they rounded the corner, they did not get a chance to shout. This time the team worked perfectly. Suzu threw his Shuriken and it took off the shocked leaders head, his body falling to the ground, rolling next to it was his severed head, seemingly still donning a shocked expression. Ryu began to pick off the last two to turn the corner, Kayden and Kaidia charged past them and held off the other two as he followed their charge and retrieved his red coated silver weapon from the floor where it had landed after hitting the wall. The tallest soldier at the back turned and tried to run, but it was too late. Ryu stepped up and shot him through the head with his powerful gun. Only one shot and the man fell to the ground.

Just as that man fell, the last two fell to the experience of the sword wielding members of his group; the two blades nearly triggering in unison with the other.

The army was nothing. Their forces weren't trained any where near the experience of the SeeDs' or the Cadets. They were runners; the smallest, youngest and fastest members of the army. They did not have any military training and barely any weapons training. Only chosen to be where they were because of their fleet footedness. It seemed to make it worse that they were killing inexperienced soldiers, who could have been SeeD cadets had their parents sent them to Garden. 'I killed someone that couldn't defend himself.'

Suzu mused to himself as the group slowly and very quietly began to clean up the fallen bodies and dispose of any evidence of blood. 'More blood on my hands.' The throwing expert thought to himself. 'I wonder if the others are thinking what I am.'

The two Gunbladers resumed their position; guarding the exit and entrance of ten peoples' tomb. Suzu wondered if any more would die that day.

There was silence after that in the dead light they were standing in. Suzu squinted, his vision being slightly impaired due to the low level of illumination, and peered at the furthest away members of his team. They stood there motionless; just watching, like sentinels. Both appeared almost lifeless; machines programmed to kill. They had all just done so.

The minutes ticked by, slowly, as if mocking him with the painful passing of time. How time could change everything, and be the end for some. He hoped to anything that there would be no more killings this day. Suzu could not take anymore of death spilling from his hands.

Before his point, he had been a cadet. Confident in his ability to control magic and his prowess with the deadly weapon he held in his tight grip. Now that weapon had killed two men; he had watched them fall as he attacked, and he wasn't a youth anymore. The blood on his hands changed him, and he was sure he would never be what he had been before starting out on this venture. He would never be the same person he had been just a few hours ago when the day had begun. Suzu had given into panic during the first attack, and as he thought about it, the choking feeling swallowed him up once more. He was a killer and the faces of the men he had killed would haunt him for the rest of his life. He could not be a SeeD.

Something beeped quietly at his waist and he jumped out of his skin at the sudden and seemingly loud sound echoing through the tomb. He grabbed up the device and flipped it on.

"The main attack has started, Cadet Squad A." A recorded voice echoed in his ear. "Prepare to move out." The voice continued.

Suzu nodded to the phone, acknowledging its message. He waved the other members of his team over and when they all were gathered he quietly led them out of the dark area, which seemed all the more haunted by his knowledge that ten bodies lay there and would stay hidden for an eternity. 'They're families will never know. I don't want to put mine through that.' He thought as they crept from their location.

It was not the time to be running, not when they were that close to the small group of runners. They would be dealt with by the larger groups of more experienced fighters that would come; ones that were used to killing innocents.

When he led then down two caverns, Suzu stared to run, as if the souls of the ones he had killed ran behind him and wanted to pull them into the cold grip of death. He was only faintly aware that his squad was falling behind and the soft voice of the shotgun specialist echoed dully in Suzu's ears, but he didn't care. He just wanted to escape the tomb; escape the calling of the murdered that had fallen that day…

To escape his own guilty conscience.