Just putting it out here that I'm off of spring break, so i wont have as much free time to write this, even if im excited to. As always enjoy, and tell us what you think, we're more than happy to know. ^^ ~Xar

Kagami had never seen a larger person in his entire life and it pissed him off. Oh sure, he'd heard of Magnus from his teacher and just by random passerby, but he'd never actually saw one in real life! The war between the two countries had all but decimated their populations, and they had never been fast at reproducing anyway.

The man was huge. Kagami normally prided himself at being tall and bulky for a 17 year old human, but he was now dwarfed by the veritable mountain in front of him. This Kiyoshi just HAD to be at least three or four inches taller, with arms thicker than a goddamn tree. AND he had to have horns.

The tank was feeling intimidated just by looking at him, so he wondered exactly how his tiny white mage companion was feeling, but like always Kuroko had his infuriating blank face. Did nothing bother him?

"How the hell are you not like…bothered by him? He's huge!" Kagami whispered loudly, ignoring Riko's shouts at the large Magnus.

"I know someone who is much larger than he is. I'm not impressed. Now shut up," Kuroko said, jabbing him in the ribs to make sure he did so. He yelped in protest, stepping on the idiot's foot in return, but the serious tone in their leaders' voices stopped them from continuing.

"What do you mean? I thought he'd disappeared for a long time!" Riko shouted, causing the rest of the senior members to worry on various levels.

"I know, Riko, but we ran into him. I'm certain. It was his army, and his-ugh!" The Magnus named Kiyoshi suddenly shuddered in pain, his leg collapsing under him. Both Riko and Hyuuga rushed out, but were threatened to be crushed had Kagami not intervened. He still staggered under the humongous weight as Hyuuga told him to lower the man to the ground.

"Thanks for that. I hate to admit his weight is more than we can handle sometimes…" Riko said softly as she helped move Kiyoshi's limbs so they were all on the shallow wooden porch that looked out over the training field.

"It's fine," Kagami mumbled, suddenly worried about what was causing the Magnus to be this distressed. The man still had a good natured expression on his face, but he could clearly see the etched lines of hidden pain. Riko pointed at the two other newcomers, barking out orders and getting some of the first-years to scatter as well.

"Teppei, did it start hurting while you were on the mission?" Riko asked, taking the Magnus' bandaged limb in her hands and slowly examining it. Hyuga was busy propping the man's head up with his coat-it seemed despite what was said earlier, both of them cared deeply about this guy.

"I…maybe a little?" Kiyoshi said sheepishly, grunting a little when Riko's expert fingers found a bad spot.

"Idiot. Of course you didn't say anything. I'll triple your training after you get better, moron!" She said furiously, now unwrapping the bandages.

The white pieces of cloth fell away to reveal one of the vilest wounds Kagami ever had the misfortune to see. First of all, it wasn't a wound: more like a bruise, that smelled of rot and leaked an unclear, almost yellow liquid. The tissue was all black and green and if Kagami didn't know better, it almost seemed like it was…living. There were weird lumps on it the same color as the skin and the whole patch was sprawled out like a hand.

Kagami put a hand to his mouth and tried not to lose what little food he'd had after coming back. Oh dear God, what could do that to someone? It was a sight he never wanted to see again, but his eyes couldn't look away.

He'd nearly forgotten about Kuroko until he heard the soft shift of fabric, and a blue head of hair appeared next to him. "Excuse me…I'm not the most experienced when it comes to diseases, but perhaps my magic could help."

Riko almost jumped a little bit, but she softened when she saw it was Kuroko standing there. "Are you sure? I know white mages have amazing magic, but this might even be beyond your skills."

"White…mage?" The Magnus' eyes flickered open, trying to focus on the new voice. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Hello."

Kuroko merely nodded politely, then turned to the wound on Kiyoshi's leg, kneeling softly next to it. Kagami didn't know how he could stand the smell, or even look at it; even now, the redhead had to turn away.

"What's the origin of this wound?" The white mage's voice rang out clearly, as the men Riko sent away came back with various supplies. The cat-like guy went to Hyuga to help him calm the man's fever, while the really tall silent one had handed Riko a box of vials that looked like some sort of medicine. The other first years seemed to be trying to set Kiyoshi up with some place to lay down comfortably.

Kagami kind of felt useless in the bustle. He was a tank. He was meant to find the bad thing, stab it, job done. But he couldn't exactly stab a leg, could he? The tank just hoped that Kuroko knew what he was doing and could heal whatever that horrid thing was.

"Well, it's a long story, but basically it's a rot that got inflicted by an undead creature. I've been trying to distill a solution to cure it, but it's not been working, "Riko answered, her voice sounding strained. "I hate this! All my magic and I can't do anything but slow its advance!"

Kuroko reached out a gentle hand to hold her shoulder. "Aida-san, it's okay. You're trying and I'm sure to him that's more than enough. I'm here to help, so anything you can say will be of use."

Kagami nearly gaped. He'd never heard Kuroko speak or act like this at all. Normally he was blunt, tactless, rude, and just a weird ball of emotionless torpor, but he was so...gentle. His gaze was kind and Riko's tear-filled eyes seemed to be comforted by his tiny gesture.

Is this the real him? Or a side I've never seen? Either way, he suddenly remembered that despite their time bonding, he knew next to nothing about the little mage.

Kiyoshi's breathing had grown more labored, and Hyuga was softly saying something to him, laying cat-faced man's cloth over his eyes as sweat dripped down his skin. They had to do something fast, but all Kagami could do is sit down next to the body and maybe hold things.

"Thanks, Kuroko-kun…I'm going to apply the balm I normally do, but it just slows growth and eases the pain. Maybe your magic can do Teppei some good," Riko said, actually smiling in a non-sadistic way for once. She took a few vials out of silent guy's box and was mixing them over to the side, whispering some words so they'd actually start glowing.

Kuroko however, merely stared straight at the rot for so long Kagami wondered if he'd frozen-until he suddenly moved to touch the uneven growths. "Gross! Kuroko, don't…."

He stopped speaking when Kuroko's eyes started glowing, and little lines of blue light extended from his finger all down the wound and Kiyoshi's leg. Kagami gasped and nearly pulled away, but was almost hypnotized by the way the little blue lights traveled in right angles all over the surface of the skin and wound, even winding its way up Kuroko's arm to his face.

The glow had alerted and stopped everyone else in their tracks. No one was talking, and the atmosphere was like a miracle was taking place. This was it. This was the fabled white magic lost to war and terror so long ago. Kagami couldn't breathe, or move. All he could do was witness the blue lines drawing away as Kuroko pulled his hand free, then gently placed the rest of his fingers down on the wound and closing his eyes.

The blue glow never faded, but white began to soften the edges and spread into the rot on the Magnus' leg. A few of the growths shrank away, shriveling into dust as the white light hit them, but otherwise, all it did was seem to go deeper, where Kagami couldn't see it. The whole limb was bathed in white glow that got brighter like a star and slowly faded out, leaving them seated exactly as they once were.

Once Kagami got his senses back, the wound was looking better. There were less weird protrusions, and the skin color looked better; besides that, Kiyoshi seemed to have calmed down and was taking deep breaths.

"Using my Scan ability, I confirmed what I thought happened. Magnus skin is incredibly tough and not susceptible to rot or even normal healing abilities sometimes. The only way it made purchase is through an open wound in his leg. Having closed that and applied an Esuna, I can say with some confidence the rot will not spread, at least," Kuroko said in a monotone, oblivious to all the shocked stares he was getting.

'I-Kuroko, you did all of that?!" Kagami, per normal, was the first one to speak. All he got in return was a pair of impassive eyes staring at him.

"I will concede the fact it was hard to do and drained me of a lot of magic, but yes. I did," Kuroko said, turning back to their guild leader. "I still suggest you use your methods to reduce the pain. I'm not as much of an expert on diseases, I'm sorry."

He bowed his head slightly but Riko suddenly leaned over Kiyoshi's legs and hugged him, burying his surprised face into her shoulder. "Thank you so much! We were so worried…it would keep spreading and we couldn't stop it, but even that is like a dream come true. You really are a white mage, Kuroko-kun, thank you!"

There were tears streaming freely from more than one pair of eyes, confusing the duo both

"But Aida-san, all I did was-"

"You shut up! Teppei has been inflicted with that for three years! We tried everything-all sorts of magic, paying money for healers, even when we formed the guild, we were always looking…and then a legendary white mage comes in and makes the whole thing stop in its tracks!" Riko pulled back, holding Kuroko's face between her hands. She was smiling-they were all smiling. Hyuga was blinking away something, and even Kiyoshi seemed to be coming round.

"I don't care what the king ever had against white mages, but you're more than welcome here in Seirin. You too, Kagami," Hyuuga said, stumbling over a few of her words.

"Me?" Kagami pointed a finger at himself. "But I didn't do anything!"

"It's a tank's job to keep their white mage from harm, idiot. Didn't you ever learn anything in history?" Hyuuga shot back, the malice not reaching his eyes at all.

"I, uh, well…" He could feel his face only burning slightly as he scratched the back of his head. Yeah, his teacher had told him that when he showed his aptitude, but seriously, he didn't think he'd need to remember if there were no white mages left. "I'll do my best then…"

Everyone had a good laugh at that, even Riko, who'd let Kuroko go and was applying a gently glowing liquid to the partially healed wound. The redhead's vision slowly slinked to the left, trying to catch any signs of life in his partner, and boy was he glad he did.

Kuroko was actually genuinely smiling, like that one time he did in Midorima's temple. He could practically feel it shoot him through the heart, leaving a weird bubbly feeling behind. Why he wanted to spread a grin across his own face he didn't know, but seeing the look of actual happiness on the mages face made him-happy.

"Hey, you're a white mage, right?" Kiyoshi had started speaking, much to the chagrin of his angry elf caretaker. "That was amazing, I can't thank you enough!"

Kuroko bowed his head politely. "It was the least I could do."

"No, I mean it, really. But I guess I can't thank you properly until Riko gives me the go sign," Kiyoshi said, chuckling quietly to himself. "That'll be a little bit. But there's something I needed to tell all of you about Hanamiya."

"Kiyoshi, stop. It can wait until you've slept-" Hyuuga started to say, but got cut off by a large hand flopping around.

"No, it can't, Junpei. Hanamiya said-"He grunted and tried to push himself up slightly to see the pair, despite protests-"He said there was a rumor of a white mage in Seirin floating around. He also said, and I quote 'it would be a shame if word of that reached the wrong ears and your guild was broken beyond repair.'"

There was silence after that statement. A bad one.

"Should we really take this guy's threats seriously?" Kagami, again, was the first to speak up.

"Yes," Riko snapped with blunt force. "He's the one who gave Teppei this injury. He's more than capable of following through. Teppei. We're gonna get you settled and then we'll keep a watch out, okay?"

She stood up and stretched her limbs, as Hyuuga behind them ordered tall silent guy to help trying and carry Kiyoshi to another room. "I want you two to go eat and recover, but don't leave the guild house, okay? I doubt they'll do anything tonight, but be on your guard. I've got limited resources to work with."

The two nodded before Kagami aggressively pushed his partner in the direction of food and he helped lug the large Magnus to the small makeshift infirmary Seirin had.

The rest of the evening passed with little happening, though the atmosphere was much more subdued than normal. Izuki wasn't making jokes and annoying everyone like normal, Hyuuga was muttering to himself, and Riko couldn't even be found except for muffled bangs from her lab. Kagami and Kuroko silently ate together, the former making sure his partner ate enough and wasn't in danger of passing out.

Everything seemed to be fine, even when Kagami had to pull a blanket over Kuroko because the idiot kept losing his.

He really wished it could've stayed that way.

They came at dawn, when the first rays of sun peeked over the forest.

Kuroko didn't know how long he'd been sleeping, but it felt like it hadn't been enough as he was jolted up by Kagami's rough hands and voice. "Kuroko, get up! Now!"

Half of him wanted to punch his partner and go back to sleep, but he'd never heard Kagami that urgent. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but they're attacking! I think it's the king's men," Kagami had managed to drag him halfway off his mattress, but that last statement is all he needed to wake up fully. His eyes opened wide, a moment of undiluted panic running through them.

"Come on!" Kuroko just nodded, his throat now feeling like it was closing up, snatching his bag and running through the open door. The haze of sleep had gone completely, and he could now hear the sounds of battle in the distance. The building shook a little bit, and Kuroko heard the shriek of a summon that he could only hope was Izuki's. There were shouts, and if he probably looked farther, there would be fire, just like those days, and those nights he thought were over-

"Kuroko, snap out of it!" Kagami yelled, his grip almost painful on the mage's arm. He dragged Kuroko down the hallway and to the door that separated the living quarters from the inner courtyard. The door seemed a force field for all the noise: once it opened, the cries of battle poured onto them.

They almost stumbled out onto the ground, but Kuroko clutched the doorframe as he saw the distinct armor of the king's soldiers. No, this really is like last time! And he isn't around to help me this time….

"Shit, we can't go this way!" Kagami started dragging the both down the hallway before they were spotted, but it was too late. There were armored footsteps coming closer, and Kuroko pulled his own arm away to start running himself. He couldn't think about anything now, just to get out of here and figure out what was going on.

"Kagami-kun! Where are the others?" He breathed heavily, forcing the words through his lips.

"Dunno. Trying to find them! Izuki was the one who warned me and told to wake you up," He huffed loudly, suddenly stopping and dragging them both into an empty room. He was sure both of their feet were filled with splinters, but that was the worst of their problems. "Said to….find the cellar? I didn't know this place had a cellar!"

Kuroko just shook his head in confusion. He didn't know what the man was talking about either, having arrived just when Kagami had. Besides, having been interrupted from his sleep, he was still running on fumes. "We need to find someone-"

There was a shout and all of a sudden all Kuroko could see was a shadow as Kagami completely engulfed him, letting out a slight grunt of pain after what sounded horribly like an arrow flying through the air. "Kagami-kun!"

He was pushed to the side and Kagami ignored him, choosing to rush forward at the man who'd fired the arrow. He was in the doorway and there were a couple men behind him, but that didn't stop the tank from letting out a yell and charging, his eyes blazing red with an eerie light-like during the Festival.

The bowman went down quick, and crushed one of the soldiers behind him. The other was able to recover, but Kagami was already swinging his leg around to crush the man's skull with his heel. It hit with a sharp thud, followed by another as he dropped to the floor. The arrow was still sticking out of Kagami's shoulder, but he seemed not to notice, merely growling through his teeth.

"Kagami…" Kuroko didn't have any attack spells. It was a great weakness of his that he never rectified and now he was paying for it. There was no time for their usual tactics now, so he improvised. There was a third and final soldier rushing at Kagami's unprotected back, and he dived to the floor, pulling out the dagger he always had by his side. The man didn't notice him even as he slid right between his legs, but as he flipped the dagger to the hilt side, the man stopped. Stared.

Too slow. Kuroko jumped on him, ramming the hilt straight into his neck. He went down hard, tumbling in front of Kagami, who had thankfully, calmed down. "Kagami-kun, we need to find a place to hide, otherwise this will keep happening."

"I-what the hell did you just-uh, never mind. Come on, I heard someone friendly this way!" A strong hand pulled him up, and Kuroko didn't even question how the tank could even hear anything like that through all this ruckus.

It was worth it when they found Hyuuga, standing outside a closed door with some blood dripping down his face. He looked relieved, then worried when he saw the two. It quickly shifted to horror as he saw the two already minorly injured. "We've been looking for you two everywhere! What did you get yourselves into?!"

"A couple guys tried to ambush Kuroko. We took care of him," Kagami grunted, shrugging off any concern.

"At least you two are okay. I don't know where they came from! It's just like Kiyoshi said, that bastard. Hanamiya must have tipped off the royalty you guys were here and now they're trying to cut us down!" Hyuuga snarled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen…." Kuroko said, bowing his head down low. Running all this way to escape prejudice seemed to have done nothing but brought harm onto innocent people.

A hand lightly cuffed his head. "Idiot. You are always more than welcome here. It's not your fault for coming here, since it would happen eventually. All we need you to do for us right now is hide. Otherwise that would be disrespectful for all the people fighting for your guys' lives, right?"

Kuroko nodded dully, his heart exploding into a thousand different sensations.

"Good." Hyuuga nodded back, then pointed to a door down the hall. "Staircase is there. Go to the cellar, and hide yourselves behind something. Do NOT come out until we tell you to."

"Stay safe," Kuroko wished, this time taking Kagami's arm and running over to the door. It wasn't until they were halfway down that Kuroko allowed himself a small smile. The door Hyuuga had been standing in front of led to the infirmary.

It was almost a deathly quiet in the basement, even with the lulls of battle above them. There were scattered boxes and sacks everywhere, a thin layer of dust coating some of them, but otherwise, there didn't really seem like a place to hide.

"Come on." Kagami apparently wasn't taking no for an answer, heading over to a corner of the small room, practically shoving the smaller male down inside of it. He started stacking crates in front of them, high enough that one would have to be over Kagami's height to see them. There was very little space when the tank finally sat back down, their breath both chilling the air in front of them.

Somehow being confined to this tiny place made the battle seem even more nerve-wracking and Kuroko could swear he heard his heart beating out of his chest. "Kagami-kun, is stupid and got himself shot."

That was all he could think to say, but Kagami laughed anyway. "Yeah, so? You're the healer, anyway."

"You can't always rely on me forever, Kagami-kun. Maybe one day I won't be here to do this," He said quietly, suddenly yanking the arrow out, causing the tank to nearly punch him in the stomach. Kuroko quickly checked the arrowhead and wound for poisons, and having found none, cast a quick healing spell to close it. "There."

It fell silent again, and he was aware of his normally gloved hands shaking in the almost nonexistent light. In fact, Kagami could probably tell how nervous he was from how he was pressed against his side. But that would be weakness, and ever since the day his mother died, he promised that he would never show it ever again.

"Kagami-ku-" He started to say, but he mouth was too dry to keep talking. His partner didn't move for a minute, but all of a sudden, he found warm arms wrapped around himself. Kuroko started, but they didn't move. Legs shifted underneath him until he was practically sitting on Kagami's lap, the larger male's face pressed softly into his hair.

He was shaking too.

Kuroko could only vaguely recall something about how he was from the war-torn nation of Verna, so it probably brought back a bunch of bad memories for him too, but Kagami always seemed to be so unaffected by everything, it was kind of shocking.

Then again, he showed emotion so little the tank probably thought the same of him. A hand had been raised to try and pry the arms off but the more he sank into the warmth, he didn't want to. Kagami's arms were strong, and held him almost like something precious. Instead of bars like a cage, it was more like a hug, a warm wall of protection.

Kagami's breath was in his hair, and Kagami's heartbeat was on his back, and all the sounds around them slowly faded until it was just them, the two of them. Slowly he lowered his arms around one of Kagami's own, holding it tight. Never let go, or you'll lose him too.

He hadn't wanted to get attached, for everyone else seemed to have ended up leaving, but his heart was too fragile to take everything alone, he guess. Kuroko could almost laughed at himself for how pathetic he was being. He kept claiming he'd get stronger, but ran back to the nearest person who promised him nothing but words.

Kagami was an idiot, but he'd been true to his words every single time. And here he was, holding him, protecting him, hiding with him in the deep recesses of a long-forgotten basement. It would almost be romantic if Kuroko hadn't given up on something like that a long time ago. Still, this was a nice place to be. He liked Kagami's smell and the feel of the tank's arms and the way they were wrapped together to prevent anyone from separating them.

Kuroko truly lost his own battle, right then and there.

Perhaps they had both been thinking of someone else, and perhaps this was the last day they would see each other alive, but he didn't mind either way. He could close his eyes and pretend nothing ever happened.

"Tetsuya, you have to listen to me. Tetsuya. Don't you ever give up! HE will protect you, okay?" He couldn't remember his mother's face, only her blue hair just like his. Her kind and warm smile, her arms as they hugged her precious son tight.

It was the church. They'd fled there in the night, after seeing the fallen corpses of so many of the people they had once loved. He'd cried and cried, not understand why this was happening. He couldn't speak anymore. All he saw was red, red, and not the pretty red HE had. The terrible kind that stained the swords and clothes of the king's men.

He once asked why, and his mother couldn't tell them. "They hate holy magic. They hate white mages and paladins," she said. She held them close, not wanting to lose anything else. And Tetsuya felt safe, curled up there in his mother's arms with HIM next to them. The church was beautiful and quiet, any sound echoing through the giant chamber. No people around, but that was a good thing.

And of course, the peace couldn't last. He didn't know how long, but the fire that had consumed their home, reflected in his eyes as he ran away with his mother came to the church. There was yelling, screaming. There was a lot of swords and flashes of white light, and the stomping of armored feet.

But he would never forget the lifeless doll that was supposed to be his mother. She lay there, broken, even if her eyes were closed and it looked like she had just fallen asleep. He couldn't make a sound, a hand was over his mouth. Neither of them dared to breathe. Smoke was filling the church, and not for the first time, Tetsuya hated the white color that came out of his hand when he tried to use magic.

All he had in the world wasn't enough to bring the lifeless doll back again. They had to leave. They had to run away from there and never come back but all he could do was cry.

This was weakness, and it would kill him one day. "I promise to never cry again."

"It's okay, I'll protect you."

Tetsuya couldn't smile at that, but he felt less alone. "But mom…"

"She's gone, but you're not alone, Tetsuya. I promised you, remember?"

He did remember, but the words were very far away. The lips moved but he couldn't hear anything either. He didn't want to think, he wanted to lay down on the cold marble next to the doll and sleep, but he couldn't. That's what he promised. The king's men couldn't find him here.

He took the hand and he ran away. That was all he could do. All he could ever do.

The noises were getting louder. With each increased footstep, Kuroko's breath got faster and Kagami's grip tighter. He was holding onto his partner's arm like it was the last resort. A banging on the door caused him to jump.

He couldn't think about how it was just like last time. How Kagami was like him, how they were hiding away in a corner, hand over his mouth so he wouldn't make a noise-not that he was going to-waiting for the people come to kill him to pass by.

He certainly couldn't think instead of his mother's doll there, it could be Kagami's-

Kuroko was glad Kagami's arms unconsciously tightened and his face was nearly buried in his hair, because it stopped him from going very dark places with his mind.

They all waited a few tense moments before the door burst open. There was a lot of clanking and cursing and neither of them moved, or breathed, or anything. Kuroko wasn't even sure if they were alive for those few seconds even as his vision nearly faded away due to panic, but it was all over with a shout and a series of massive crunches.

"Kagami, Kuroko, are you in here? It's okay now!" That was definitely Kiyoshi's voice calling them.

"Really? Is it, or are you just saying that?" Kagami yelled back, taking his face out of the mage's hair.

"It's okay, I swear! It…it's not a pretty scene, but they found us too much trouble and ran away. You don't have to hide anymore, you have my word." Kiyoshi's tone was calming and Kuroko found himself believing what the Magnus was saying.

Every muscle in his body relaxed, and he slumped over in Kagami's arms, earning a tiny bit of surprise from him.

"Kuroko…"

"I'm fine, Kagami-kun. I'm just very relieved that the three of us are safe now," Kuroko said, his mask up and perfectly in place again. "Can you please move these boxes out of the way?"

Kagami sort of sat there for a minute, before slowly nodding, trying to get up without squishing the other. By the sound of it, Kiyoshi had already started on the other side with the crates, Kagami pushing the last one over, revealing the Magnus' smiling face.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," He said, and he really did look relieved. All the hard lines on his face softened, and he reached out with a gigantic hand to ruffle them both on the head.

"Me too, Kiyoshi-san," Kuroko said with a little nod. He wasn't shaking anymore and Kagami was just standing behind him like normal, but he could still feel a ghost imprint on his skin and wanted to rub it off. He had to trust Kagami, that he wouldn't mention anything that went on.

"Are you sure you should be walking around?" Kagami asked, blunt as ever.

"Kuroko here and Riko did a great job helping me. Besides, we're kinda short on hands." Kiyoshi was still limping, but his leg was wrapped up and apparently mobile enough to fight, if the fallen bodies behind him were any proof of that.

"Come on, Kuroko, let's go help," Kagami said, even though it's something he was already going to do. Kiyoshi led them out of the dusty cellar to the main guild floor, where most of the action had taken place.

It was a disaster zone.

There was splintered wood just where they were standing, but further on, they could see that almost the entire front of the building was just gone. They were more on the training field side, but there was still the sound of wood breaking and fires being put out.

The field itself had several gouges in it, as well as patches of off-colored liquid and more than one broken weapon, but oddly enough, no bodies anywhere. "Did…did anyone…."

"No, thankfully no one was killed outright, but some of them might die if they don't get medical treatment immediately," Kiyoshi said, which was enough of a prompt to get Kuroko sprinting down the hallways, with Kagami yelling after him.

Not long after, he met Riko, who was kneeling over a heavily bleeding Hyuuga. Doing her best to not appear upset, of course, she was frantically applying what she could just to stop him from dying, though it didn't seem to be working.

"Moron! He locked me in the infirmary with Teppei after I released my golems! I'm never gonna forgive you!" She shouted, slamming one of her concoctions down to the side. Kuroko merely sat beside her, ignoring her surprised look and clasped his hands over Hyuuga's body.

The white light descended, flowing through him, repairing muscles and skin, calming the pain and fever that would inevitably come. Releasing a breath, he opened his eyes again to Hyuuga glaring angrily up at them. "I have to be in debt to our juniors, of course!"

Riko laughed, the sound relieving tension in her body and the air around her. "Sounds like he'll be fine. I can't thank you enough. First Teppei, now Jun…"

"It's merely my job," He said, standing up again, hiding the tremors in his legs. It was Kagami, however, who asked the important questions.

"What's the situation for everyone else?" He was looking distinctly uncomfortable again.

"We've been clearing out the unconscious or dead soldiers, Izuki's helping with that, if the guy stops crying about his dead chickens. People from the village have come to help us move the wounded to the inn and other safe places in town, but there's a lot of them, "she replied grimly. "We need any help we can get."

Riko didn't leave Hyuuga's side, merely turning to face her two newest charges. "Whatever you can do for recovery, go do it. I need to get this guy moved to a safe place before I go and check on the guild's status. Okay? Go with Teppei and make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

Despite Kiyoshi's protest, the two nodded in agreement, before walking off into the chaos.

Furihata Kouki was not someone who prided himself in his courage. He was not also someone who prided himself in his quick thinking, disaster handling, or really, anything else for that matter. He wasn't even here because he wanted to be, merely because the elders of his town said so.

"This is where you're destined to go, Kouki. We've heard all the tales, seen what the future has to bring, and you will be needed there," They had said, and with a straight face too. He may have been Bel'ua, but a lot of the young ones didn't really believe in all the fate and religious stuff much.

Okay, well maybe it was cool that someone as normal as him could have a destiny awaiting him, but who knew that it would await him in a small town jam-packed with mages and surrounded by a forest with monsters he was fairly certain wanted to eat a cat like him.

Well, they keep calling me a kitten. It's kinda rude of them, Furihata thought to himself as he obliviously walked into town, missing the people looking. His cat ears and tail were probably what was drawing their attention, never mind the fact that they were twitching endlessly due to the poor guy's nerves.

It wasn't until he nearly ran flat into a pole that he looked up, saw that the Seirin hunting guild he'd been told was there was not only in ruins, but there were injuring people everywhere and some parts were on fire.

It took every fibre of his being not to run away and hide in a trash can or something. "I-I-w-what is going on here?!"

He of course, wasn't close enough to anyone to be hurt, but his ears still drooped slightly. A lot of people were shouting and it was making him even more nerve-wracked, but he clutched closely to his flute-his primary weapon-and started to walk inside.

A lot of the shouting was coming from a really, REALLY tall human male with red hair. The guy had all the looks and attitude of a tiger, but it seemed to be directed at a very small person standing next to him.

He didn't even notice the blue-haired male at first, jumping slightly when he made eye contact, but something about it left Furihata feeling cold.

It can't be. That dark knight I had met just a month earlier….those are the same eyes. It's the same sort of aura too. What's going on here? He shook himself, but the crawling feeling wasn't going away. He wanting to ask this man what was going on, but he stopped himself. If Furihata didn't even know, then how could he ask that of anyone?

It wouldn't leave his mind that the two were somehow connected, but as the blue eyes slid away, he was freed from their grasp and finally looked around. He was standing in what seemed to be a ruined courtyard, several people with injuries lying around on white cloth. There were people, presumably guild members and villagers alike, running in between them with supplies and orders.

Furihata clutched his flute tighter. This was a moment! Bards like him were-

"Holy-are you a white mage?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them and his eyes closed tight in apology.

"Yes." He opened them again, only to find the small mage standing directly in front of him. He jumped, making a decidedly odd noise, but stiffened himself again.

"Sorry. I know it's an odd question, but…well, I'm Furihata Kouki. I'm a bard and it seems like I came at a bad time. But I can help! I just kept hearing about all the legends of white mages and didn't know any of you survived…" He was babbling and couldn't help it, but his ears and tail were creeping lower with every second that the large red-haired man was staring at him.

"It's okay. It's been a long day. I've heard of bards. I would be more than happy if you could assist me," the blue-haired mage said flatly. Furihata gave a quick grin and nodded.

"I can do that! I hope no one minds me playing music…um, who are you if I might ask?" He said, trying not to look directly in the predator's eyes.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. The angry-looking one is Kagami Taiga, but he's harmless," the mage said, earning another shout of derision from the tall guy.

"I am NOT harmless!"

"Then stop bothering Furihata-san and start using your muscles properly," Kuroko said completely deadpan. The Kagami fellow growled something but actually stomped off inside the ruined building. He didn't say anything more, just followed the white mage to the next patient.

He could tell that Kuroko was getting more lethargic with the constant healing, so he pulled out his flute to start playing, stumbling over a few notes of the song when he saw some of the patients turn towards him.

It was the Song of Healing, or at least that's what his mother had taught him when he learned the song. Not as powerful as true white magic (And therefore, not considered a threat), it healed the body of minor wounds, and the mind of minor woes.

Bard magic had always been something of an amazement to him, how they could weave spells out of songs that sounded so nostalgic and full of life, and while he had such a long way to go, Furihata could at least be happy in the fact that now he was actually doing something instead of getting shoved to the side.

Some of the people were actually smiling as he played, and even Kuroko seemed more vigorous when he walked. The Bel'ua finished the song, catching onto the mage's arm as he nearly fell over. "Um, I think you should probably lie down."

That earned him a filthy glare and the urge to never ever say that again. How could that Kagami guy stand that? So, he kept playing, since one of the younger patients had told him she liked his music. He may or may not have snuck a regenerating melody in, but that could only be targeted one person at a time, and probably the main reason Kuroko hadn't keeled over on the spot. All in all, things were looking much better than when he'd first arrived.

He kept playing for who knew how long, eventually running out of breath and apologizing to everyone. Unfortunately with it came a loud thump, and the white mage had finally fallen to the ground, his skin clammy to the touch.

It was still midday, but by now a lot of the patients seemed to have been moved elsewhere, and only guild members were sticking around the headquarters, discussing things in low voices. Furihata wasn't one to intrude, but he was fairly certain this white mage was someone important and he'd just passed out on the ground looking like death.

"Kagami. Kagami Taiga!" He managed to shout without stuttering, which was a feat in itself. The red-haired tank, passing by with what looking like a half broken piece of wood, stopped and glared at the smaller one.

"Your friend just um, kinda passed out. I don't know what to do with him…" Furihata stammered, but it turned out that was all he needed to say. Kagami immediately dropped the wood, cursing and muttering as he saw Kuroko's prone body. Scooping him up with more grace and gentleness Furihata expected from someone that big, the tank slowly turned away.

He braced himself for another insult, but that's not really what came. Maybe. "You both are idiots. Lie down before you hurt yourself."

He did, later, after he found out what was going on. It didn't make him feel any better.