Chapter Four is finally here! This might just be the longest one yet. Naturally with Christmas break rolling around, I'm busier then ever. But I have big plans for upcoming chapters that will be written as soon as possible!

Chapter Four: Search for Kindness

Ken looked around. It was early, from what he could tell; sunlight had barely started to peek through the bottom of the tent's door. That's why it startled him to see Daisuke digging through a pack in the corner.

Ken lay still, figuring the other boy was just satisfying a crack-of-dawn snack craving. After all, the backpack that the two boys and Miyako had brought back from yesterday was still filled with food from a run-down convenience store.

But then a sudden memory pulsed inside Ken's brain. Strange symbols. A man speaking to him. He gasped and sat up.

Daisuke, who had just turned around mid-chew, jumped when he saw Ken awake. "Ah! Man, you scared me..."

"Sorry. What are you-?" Ken said, exhaling.

"I'm going out scouting." Daisuke gestured to the door. "I got my old job back."

Ken was silent for a moment, staring off into space as his brow furrowed. Those symbols...what did they mean? Where had he seen them before?

"Are you okay?" Daisuke asked.

"Daisuke...I think I had a strange dream last night..." Ken said quietly, his thoughtful expression remaining unaltered.

"We should probably wake the others," Daisuke replied in a serious tone.

Ken snapped out of his daze, finding this response unexpected. But Daisuke apparently felt no need to explain it, as he was already going around waking everyone up.

Once Hikari, Iori and Miyako were all at least mostly aroused and sitting in a circle with Ken and Daisuke, Ken explained what he remembered.

"There was a man in a white robe speaking to me. He said something like, 'There is no victory without kindness.' And I remember seeing some symbols..."

Suddenly, it hit him.

"The symbols. They were on a box I found when I first woke up."

"The crest," Hikari said hopefully. "Maybe your crest is in that box."

"But...that doesn't make sense...why would I dream about that?" Ken asked in confusion.

"Because, that guy-when we dream about him, it usually means something," Daisuke piped up. "If you remember seeing him, it's probably one of those."

"That 'guy' is Gennai," Miyako corrected with a roll of her eyes.

If that was supposed to clear it up for Ken, it didn't work. "Uh, who?" he asked.

"He's...well, he's not a human, exactly," Miyako tried to explain, her face scrunching up as she considered what he might be.

"We only see him on occasion, and he usually offers helpful insight," Iori continued for her. "He says he's from another world."

Ken pursed his lips and nodded, trying to be satisfied with this explanation. It was clear that the others didn't exactly know who-or what-this Gennai person was.

"Well, then, looks like we have another journey ahead of us!" Daisuke cried, raising a fist.

Ken glanced at Miyako and Iori, who first looked at each other, then at Hikari, who was still sitting silently.

"I think it's worth a try," she said finally, looking with bright eyes at all the others.

"If Gennai's right, we can't beat the monsters without all the crests," Miyako asserted. "It's definitely worth a shot."

"What do you think, Ken?" Iori asked. "It was your dream, after all."

Ken honestly hadn't expected anyone to ask him. He blinked, then nodded. "I think we should go."

Daisuke grinned, as if he was glad to be able to put himself in danger again. "All right, it's settled!"

The supplies were packed quickly and efficiently. Hikari distributed some of the food into different packs, making sure they each had one. It was a bad idea, she said, to put it all on one person.

At the last minute, Miyako realized she forgot her rope.

"It's very important for survival," she said, sticking her head under one of the cots to look.

"Aw, come on, Miyako," Daisuke complained. "You'll be looking for your stupid rope all day."

"You won't say that if your hanging off a cliff and there's nothing to pull you up!" Miyako retorted, squeezing herself farther under the cot.

"Maybe we should all help look," Hikari suggested, folding her hands.

Iori shrugged and started looking around.

Daisuke merely shook his head and said to himself, "There aren't any cliffs around here anyway."

"It just might be in the storage tent..." Ken heard Miyako mutter.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt to look, he went outside and wound his way around to the other tent behind. He stepped into the unlit space filled with old cardboard boxes and rolled-up sleeping bags and scanned the area. No rope that he could see. As he began moving into the darker recesses of the tent, squinting, a sudden voice startled him.

"What do you want?"

Ken jumped. "Ah-who's there?" With a jolt, he remembered that the sixth and rather elusive member of their party hid back here. "Are you...T-Takeru?"

As his eyes adjusted, he could barely make out a figure sitting in the dimness. There was a soft click and light sprang from an oil lamp near Takeru's feet.

"And you are Ken," he said. Ken could now see the boy sitting there had scruffy dark-blonde hair and striking blue eyes, and was probably about the same age as he was. Though it was hard to tell, really, because the boy's tired expression made him look much older.

"Yes," Ken answered shortly, still staring down at Takeru. He seemed sad, angry and weary at the same time. Ken really couldn't blame him, seeing how his home was so rampantly destroyed by monsters. But what had happened to him that had not occurred to Hikari?

"What do you want?" Takeru repeated patiently, beginning to look a little annoyed.

"Oh. Uh...Miyako's rope," Ken replied, feeling suddenly foolish.

Takeru kicked something toward Ken; it was a long, coiled-up rope. "I don't know why she left it in here."

"Thank you," Ken said, nodding.

"Be careful out there," Takeru said, his expression unreadable. "You're not as invincible as you think you are."

Ken picked up the rope from the ground and promptly rushed out. "Miyako, I found your-"

He ran smack into Hikari.

"Ah! Ken...did you go in there?" she asked, gesturing to the storage tent.

He nodded.

"Did you...?" She trailed off, her eyes wide, as if she was afraid of something.

"I saw Takeru," Ken replied, figuring that was what she was asking about. "I think he knows we're leaving."

She sighed. "It's just as well, I guess...though I almost wish..."

"Hey, guys! Are you coming?" Daisuke yelled, approaching. "I know which way we need to go!"

Once the group was in front of the main tent, Daisuke pointed northwest. "The ape's territory is that way. He doesn't move around very much."

"That means there's a pretty good chance we'll run into him," Iori said knowingly.

"Awesome. I can't wait to take that guy down," Miyako said.

Ken couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

"I guess it's time." Hikari gave them all an encouraging smile, but it seemed to Ken she was a little hesitant. It probably had something to do with her unsaid wish.

"So...let's go then!" Daisuke said in a genuinely enthusiastic voice. As Ken followed him, he wasn't sure if he shared the same excitement.

Ken had forgotten how long his journey to camp had been. Countless hours of traveling over the ragged terrain had all of them exhausted, their spirits withered.

"Buildings. And buildings. And look at that...more buildings," Daisuke moaned as they walked through a denser part of the once-great city. It was clear he was getting sick of traveling.

"Why don't we stop to rest again?" Hikari suggested with forced cheerfulness. Even she, the glue that held the group together, seemed at the end of her rope.

All five of them plopped down in the shadow of a former high-rise building, eagerly taking food from Hikari's pack. From the sun high in the sky, Ken guessed it was a bit past noon.

Things were a bit too quiet as they all ate their lunch. It was a ghostly place, Ken thought, looking around at all the broken glass and smashed taxi cabs. Suddenly Takeru's words floated into his mind,

"Be careful out there. You're not as invincible as you think you are."

The prickly feeling on the back of his neck was now impossible to ignore. All of a sudden he knew, he just knew, that theyshouldn't be here.

"Um, guys-"

Before the sentence was even out of his mouth, Miyako screamed.

"Up there!" she said, pointing to a nearby building.

"What?" Iori asked, jumping up and dropping his food.

"It's a-"

A large dark creature, about twice as one of them, nimbly leaped down from two stories up. It stared at them with yellow eyes.

"Cat," Ken said blankly.

"Whatever you do, don't-" Miyako started to say.

"Run!" Daisuke yelled, sprinting away in panic.

Instantly, the panther locked its eyes on him and raced forward.

"No!" Hikari cried, stumbling into the line of fire.

Ken stared in horror, not able to move.

A bright stream of light burst from Hikari's crest just as the cat was upon her. The creature was thrown back, wounded but still there, and Hikari tumbled down, unmoving.

"Hikari!" Daisuke yelled, rushing toward her fallen body.

"Guys, there's more!" Iori stared into horror as about five more cats leaped down from the other buildings, and they looked ready to attack.

"There's too many! We need to get out of here!" Miyako said, weaving her way into an alley.

Ken, still in shock, just managed to follow her. The others, the others! he wanted to shout. They had to go back for them. But there was no breath, no time. Only fear and the urge to run.

Miyako rushed around and into buildings, almost as quick as a cat herself. The sound of his own heartbeat was the only thing going through Ken's mind.

That, and an eerie phrase repeating itself over and over,

"You're not as invincible as you think you are."

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! If all goes as planned, Chapter Five will have a surprise...