Standing silently at the docks, Kiyo simply stared at the funeral pyres with his usual, emotionless gaze. But underneath his cloak and impassive facade, he clenched his fists so tightly they began to shake.
"Something wrong, Kiyoshi? Are you actually mourning for others?" murmured Kintoki.
"No. It has nothing to do with the fallen Silvermyths. I'm just disgusted at how low Vega would stoop to fight." Kiyo replied. But something actually was wrong. As ash began to flutter about the funeral boats, a sudden, disturbing image flashed across Kiyo's mind. He saw, around him, a desolate, burnt out hill-top with ashen corpses littering the hillside. The stolid, muscular warrior shook his head in irritation and turned to leave until a vibrating pulse erupted without warning on his chest. He then heard the familiar, melancholic melody of crying, but saw no one near him. Before he realized it, he felt small, delicate arms wrapped around his waist in a sudden embrace, yet he still couldn't see anyone.
"So much sorrow...so much loss..." a mysterious, feminine voice whimpered.
"What the--!!!" Kiyo uttered before the world suddenly "changed." Within a microsecond, a tidal wave of more painful images surged through his mind: a burning house, angry mobs armed with torches, a dark bamboo forest, and several hauntingly familiar heads impaled on wooden stakes. As the dreadful slide-show continued, Kiyo's cold, calculated visage steadily contorted into suppressed, unprecedented rage.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!" he roared. And the ghastly pictures suddenly burned away in a vortex of flames as Kiyo brought his power to bear. But as quickly as it came, the bizarre, living "nightmare" was gone, and Kiyo found himself back at the docks with his Suzaku flames surrounding him. He still felt a faint, dying pulse on the surface of his chest. The brawny Silvermyth felt around his chest and dug under his armor's collar until he found the source of the disturbance.
"Kiyoshi!" yelled Kintoki.
"That troublesome girl clearly intends to meddle in my affairs." Kiyo eased his power, allowing the flames to fade away before he pulled out the emerald pendant from under his collar. Despite reverting back to his emotionless look, even a distant spectator could tell that Kiyo was p*ssed off.
"I see. Then let's wait until night and then we can contact the maiden-"
"I'd rather cast this worthless gift into the sea!" Kiyo suddenly tore the pendant from his neck and pumped his arm back.
"STOP!!!!" A sudden, unstoppable burn washed over Kiyo's body, causing the muscular man to grunt in pain and fall to his knee as the ring on his finger glowed hot red.
"Hold onto it, you fool! If we talk with the priestess, then we can find out the source of the problem!"
"And that problem is her!" Kiyo struggled against his mentor's constricting blaze.
"Have some common sense for once, you bumbling buffoon! A shrine maiden wouldn't do something like this without a good reason!"
"Yeah, go ahead and take the enemy's side!"
"Just trust me and be patient! Have I ever been wrong?"
After what seemed like an eternity, Kiyo finally relented and placed the necklace back under his collar. "Fine then, sensei. I'll trust you..."  The debilitating, burning pain finally subsided, allowing the young Suzaku to return to his feet. He took a deep, calming breath before he turned and strode back to Gail's ship.

---

o goddamned how long have i been under my bed it feels like ages.hope that no one saw it.they would think i'm a wuss.but hiding is a good move to i think.swhat i have to go before anyone finds me still here but first i'm going to eat i got hunger.so after that i walk outside and just stand on the deck of the ship thinking what to do next.

---

whatever

Epsilon had hung back and watched the battle between his shipmates and the thieves. It occurred to him that there was a huge amount of exuberance in the killing.  He turned away in somewhat disgust.

    One if the problems that Epsilon had always faced had to do with one of his strongest abilities. In convincing others to his aid he, to a certain degree, had to Know  them in a very intimate way. Their fears, their hopes, their dreams..their essence.   In doing so they became REAL.  He walked on.


    At some point Epsilon was pulled from his musings by a quiet whimpering. There, located down one of the many alleys teeing off of the main road he heard it again.  He turned down the alley and faced a trash pile. He waited. There it was again, emanating behind the trash pile.  Disregarding the awful stench he kicked away the refuse and discovered a foot. Further digging uncovered one of the thieves he had met when looking for their lair. The man was terribly wounded. Half of his right arm was cut through and bleeding heavily. The sickly sweet coppery smell of blood nearly overpowered him. Thief was going to bleed out.

    “Ayah…looks like they didn’t do a very thorough job on you, my friend.” Epsilon said more to himself than Thief.

    Thief smiled a tired crooked smile.  “I’m done.” Was all he could say.

    Epsilon unfastened the man’s belt and tied it tightly around Thief’s  arm, above the wound.  “You need to find someone to sew you up, or cut that off altogether.” Epsilon said as he righted the man.

    Thief shook his head to clear it and blinked up at Epsilon.  “In my line of work, stranger, I’d much prefer to keep it,  that be’n my pick’n hand and all.”

    Before Epsilon could respond there was a shout at the entrance to the alley.

    “There!”  There’s one of them!  He’ll not get away!!”

    The shout emanated from an angry mob of thieves.  Armed with clubs, knives and assorted arcane weaponry they charged down the alleyway.  “

    Epsilon reached into his coat and placed his hand on his stiletto. Just as quickly he removed it.  He held up both hands and smiled.  “Listen gents…”

    The club came out of nowhere, and driven by a crazy anger connected with Epsilon’s jaw.  Epsilon felt the bone break inside his jaw, felt teeth splinter into his tongue, tasted blood. The next thing he realized he was in a fetal position, unable to block the vicious  boot kicks to his stomach and kidneys. He was loosing consciousness , and without that, they would kill him.

 

 

    Old Man looked across the park bench and grunted.  He leaned over and pinched Epsilon on the cheek. Not satisfied he slapped him hard across the face.  Startled Epsilon awoke.
    “You.”

    Old man Laughed. “Me”.

    “I wonder if we could continue this later.. I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

    “MMMM  yeah, getting your but handed to you”  Old man smiled.  “ I have often wandered if you, my friend, have a death wish. You know I may not always be here to help you out.”
    
    “Ha “  Epsilon countered. “You at most have been an impartial observer. I sometimes think you cause me way more grief than help. The best thing you can do for me is to put me back, allow me to my fate, I am ready.”

    “You know”   The old man began ,ignoring Epsilon’s plea.  .  “I have been mistaken for Santa Clause.  Can you  imagine that?  The giver of gifts.  Spreading good cheer.  Peace and love to all. Well. Today I shall give you a wonderful gift . Are you ready?”
    
    Before Epsilon could answer the Old  Man reached over and slapped him again on the face.  The pain was unbearable…..



Epsilon had hung back and watched the battle between his shipmates and the thieves. It occurred to him that there was a huge amount of exuberance in the killing.  He turned away in somewhat disgust.

 At some point Epsilon was pulled from his musings by a quiet whimpering. There, located down one of the many alleys teeing off of the main road he heard it again.  He turned down the alley and faced a trash pile. He waited. There it was again, emanating behind the trash pile.  Disregarding the awful stench he kicked away the refuse and discovered a foot. Further digging uncovered one of the thieves he had met when looking for their lair. The man was terribly wounded. Half of his right arm was cut through and bleeding heavily. The sickly sweet coppery smell of blood nearly overpowered him.  
The thief let out a final tortured gasp.  Epsilon recoiled at the sound of the death rattle coming from his chest.
    
“Well”.  Epsilon whispered. “For  you this life is over.”  With nothing left to do he hurried out of the alley and down to the docks.  He was unable to shake the feeling that he had been here before.

~~~~~~~~~

Midori´s hands fiddled nervously as she she swayed from side to side slightly while riding at the back of a farmer´s cart. The scent of straw filled the air around her and wrapped the beautiful silvermyth in its warmth.

-"Almost there, missy."- informed the driver with a heavy rural accent. As things would have it, Midori had managed to hitch a ride with a married couple on their way back to their farm. Along the way, they would eventually come across an intersection, where the highway that lead to Burguen awaited.

-"Thanks. I really appreciate your and your wife´s kindness."-
-"Nonesense, dear. How could we just leave such a pretty little thing like you stranded in the middle of nowhere?"- replied the woman in a motherly manner as Midori returned the gesture with a sincere gentle smile.

-"Yo headed for Burguen, missy? Bad place for a young lady to hang around I tell ya, specially by herself."- warned the farmer.
-"Oh,it´s alright. I´m going to meet up with some friends along the way."-
-"But seriously, dear, that town means nothing but trouble. Even before the demon raid, the marshal and his men already caused enough trouble as it was. Scoundrels of the most rotten core."- 

Midori giggled as she took one of her hands to her lips.

 -"Don´t worry about it, I´ll be fine."-

Eventually, the transport arrived at the intersection and the blonde maiden descended, bidding farewell to the farmer and his wife with a beaming smile of gratitude and a cheerful wave. She then awaited for about half an hour before spotting something in the distance; people riding on horses approached at full speed.
Upon reaching her location, seven individuals wrapped in hooded capes turned their attentions towards the young silvermyth.

-"Hope we didn´t keep you waiting for long."- spoke the head of the riders, who then lowered its hood to reveal herself as a red-haired lieutenant of fair skin and a few freckles running horizontally from cheekbone to cheekbone.

-"It´s alright, I got here too early anyway."- replied Midori with an affable semblant as she approached the horse to introduce herself -"I´m Midori."-
-"Amelia."- replied Amelia before helping her comrade onto her own horse -"Alright then, let´s move out, people! Demons don´t slay themselves, you know."-

And with that, the group of Silvermyths zoomed off towards Burguen, ready to free the town of the demons that haunted it...and collect the bounty.

~~~~~~~~

 

---

Upon returning to camp, Midori checked on Afonos to make sure his condition was steady.

 

-"I think it's safe now if I take him back to the ship to be treated properly. Things seem to have settled down at Griffon's Tail. Besides..."- she thought to herself as she wrapped things up and stared at Afonos over her shoulder -"...it'll be too bothersome if he tags along."-

 

After extinguishing the bonfire , Midori carried Afonos over one of her shoulders and headed back to the docks. She had to hurry, as the gallion could depart anytime soon, if it hadn't already.

 

...

 

Akasuki walked along the top of the war gallion, waiting for everyone to enter so that they could depart.

 

"Boy, they sure can talk..." The samurai commented, looking at Isk and Gail, far off in the distance. "I don't know any of these people, how big is the Guild?"

 

Aided by the mantle of darkness that the night sky offered, Midori made her way swiftly and unseen through the city rooftops all the way to the Flying Dutchman. Once there, she snuck in through one of the sides with the aid of a stolen boat. She moved towards the ship's passenger quarters and once there, she carefully checked for any sign of an empty room, finally coming across one at the end of an inner hallway, where she deposited Afonos gently on a bed.

 

-"I should seek out Gail and inform him of Afonos's condition."- she pondered before heading for the captain's headquarters.

 

"You could notify me!" Akasuki's voice could be heard from behind Midori. "Ya know, stealing things isn't very nice. Where I come from, you have to pay the owner of the stolen objects three times their worth after returning the goods."

The samurai stood up and dusted off the wall she was leaning up against. "...and if they couldn't, they were forced to pay the ultimate consequences..."

 

Midori remained standing as she didn't even bother to turn around and face Akasuki.

 

-"Is that so? I guess your home’s law enforcers must be rather competent to be able to impart such justice."- she said sardonically before treading away, completely brushing off the samurai -"Too bad I don't see anyone like that around here."-

 

The caped maiden felt the hilt of a sword brush up against the back of her hand.

 

"No, justice is different for me..." Akasuki flipped over Midori and landed in front of her, mimicking her sword stance perfectly. "I kill em' all, and let the afterlife sort them out."

 

Midori remained unimpressed as she didn't even bother to unsheath her sword.

 

-"Ah, you must be Akasuki. I've heard about you before; the samurai grump nobody likes, right?"- she replied with a faint smile.

 

"Something along those lines..can't say I remember you however."

 

Akasuki didn't break her stance, she continued to hold up.

 

"Well, with an awesome stance like this I can't believe you resort to talking so much. I guess you know you've already lost. I know all of your moves and also that of countless masters at the last journey held at the world spine."

 

After a sligt pause, Akasuki realized something.

 

"Wait, in order for you to know who I am, that means your a silvermyth right?"

 

The blonde intruder kept up her fake smile as she took some steps towards the samurai.

 

-"Yeah, that's right. I'm Elle, one of Ray's lieutenants and part of the reinforcements sent to help you in your quest to vanquish the Black Calamity. Now that we know each other, please, I need you to take me to see Gail. I must discuss with him a matter of utmost importance."-

 

Akasuki also smiled, after all, she knew the names of all the lieutenants, and ‘Elle’ didn't ring a bell.

 

"Oh, ok, just come this way..."

 

Akasuki walked around a corner, waiting for "Elle" to come around, and perhaps have a very bad day. This last one merely followed after her, completely off guard and unsuspecting.

 

Just then, the samuri soundlessly glided through the air in an attempt to divide the intruder in half. Her sword hit right on target, but instead of flesh, blood, and sinew, it met with nothing but air. It was as if the fake lieutenant's body lacked any substance at all.

 

-"Did you just attack me unwarned and unprepared?"- spoke 'Elle' in a dark tone that denoted despise.

 

"I'll do that and far worse to a liar!" Akasuki tore down the corridor towards her truly intended target.

 

In her own stead, Midori kept backflipping as the samurai advanced relentlessly; splinters flying everywhere while countless swordmarks were carved into every wall. Finally reaching the end of the hallway, the rogue Silvermyth had no choice but to pull out a pair of curved daggers to block a vertical strike coming right at her head.

 

-"You should've stayed out of my business, then maybe you would've lived to see another day..."- she expressed before pushing Akasuki's sword back at her and x-slashing at her torso.

 

But using the momentum, the samurai went into a drunken sword stance and blocked one of the blades while the other one graced her.

 

" My business is whatever happens aboard this here ship!"

 

With a snap, Akasuki had resumed Midori's sword style and slashed at her ankles.

 

Before the sword could cut through any tendons, the former silvermyth leapt overhead and landed behind the samurai.

 

-"You're so stubborn and troublesome, nothing like a lady."-

-"Though memory's been erased, its remains cry out from our hearts."-

 

Using her power word technique, dozens upon dozens of Midori phantoms filled the corridor in less than a second and rushed at Akasuki with the intention of shredding her to ribbons.

 

The phantom Midoris continued to hack away at Akasuki's depleating defenses. Even in such a small corridor, it was hard to keep everyone at bay. The ever-so-confident Silvermyth was loosing, and she knew it. Lastly, the phantoms let up, allowing Akasuki to get one good attack in. The weak phantom blew into dust with just a touch of the blade she held, but the force of the many other phantoms’ attacks shattered her katana.

 

"M-my sword!"

 

It had taken her several years to collect the ingredients for it, and now, it had been torn into several small fragments that looked like glass.

Before despair settled in, she heard Gail's power word.

 

"In this darkness, you don't fear the reaper."

 

Gail had a most interesting power word. Most words had a tendancy to be a powerful offensive force, but the half demon's however, was a defensive technique. It reversed the effects of a magical conjugation, whether it be a spell, a creature, or a power word. All of Midori's phantoms suddenly had the apperance of Gail, as they were now able to easily find the real Midori among them, who was then immediately bombarded with elbows and fists until the dizzing combo hurled her to the ground. The phantoms parted ways as the real Gail ppeared before her.

 

"Hello, Midori! Long time no see!"

 

Again, he flashed that ever-so annoying grin with his obnoxious greeting.

 

-"Were you always this rough with women?"- she inquired at the time she let go of her daggers.

"Only after I tried to marry one."

 

Gail offered her his hand and pulled her up.

 

"Y-you know her?! That *** just killed my sword! Indeed the hilt was the hardest part to make, but still!"

 

"It's ok, Midori's like me, she likes getting rough with girls." As he patted her on the back, he notice Afonos in the other room. "Hey, where did you find him?"

 

By the time he asked this, Midori was already standing at the other end of the corridor; her phantom-like afterimage fading slowly next to Gail.

 

-"Whatever happens to him from here on is not my problem."- she stated, ready to take her leave. But as she was going to do so, the injures she had sustained against Gail's technique kicked in and forced her to her knees.

 

"I just lost a buncha guys fighting Vega, I'd appreciate if you stayed with us and helped bring down the other two."

 

Gail didn't look at Midori as he spoke.

 

"I'm no father, and you’re no mother, but our son gave his life to destroy an evil that should’ve never arisen. You and I should learn from his example, and besides, Irvine and Mull would never think of looking here with us, unless I reported it..." "Are you insane?" Akasuki screeched "If Mull and Irvine are looking for her then that means she's..."

 

Midori smiled faintly again as he leaned against the wall and turned around to look at Gail.

 

-"You're so low, you know, using D like that."-

 

She remained there, staring at the ceiling as her smile disappeared.

 

-"If I am to help you, I need you to allow me to be by your side at all times and inform me about every situation and detail that should come our way."-

 

"Hey, I've got a better idea!" Gail anounced and turned towards Midori. "I'll keep you by my side, keep you on a need-to-know basis, and I'll refrain from calling Irvine, cuz let's face it, Mull's a sucker for a cute face, wouldn't do me any good to call that guy to dispose of you."

 

The half demon pointed at his phone as he said this.

 

" I'll admit, I'm a little edgy after loosing D the way I did, but you’re not the one holding the cards this time. And allow me to let you know something else..."

 

Gail folded up his phone as his voice became much deeper and more authorative.

 

"...If you screw up like you did when you were a silvermyth, if I lose one life because of you, you won't have to worry about the black lieutenants..."

 

That was the name of soldiers that no longer served the silvermyths directly. They did all the dirty wet-work Ray didn't want to get involved with directly, like the assassination of non-demons, like Midori.

 

This last one smiled faintly again. It looked like such an innocent and sweet smile.

 

-"You mean, screw up like you did when you allowed an undergraduate to confront one of the brothers alone? Yeah, I'll keep it in mind, but only if you keep in mind that next time you pick up an orphan from the Black District, you make sure to tell him or her they'll be nothing but disposable untensils in your little army, just like everyone else on this ship. Oh, and one more thing..."-

 

Ignoring all pain from her afflictions, Midori's phantom afterimage at the end of the hall faded as she moved with insane speed to stand right in front of Gail, after which she slapped him as hard as she could without surpassing a normal human’s levels of strength.

 

-"Never, EVER, dare you call him 'son' again!"-

 

And with that, she stormed off in direction of the main deck.

 

Gail smiled as he touched his cheek.

 

--MOMENTS AGO--

 

 

“Hey Gail, care to talk befor I depart?”

 

            Akasuki sped past Gail as he looked over his shoulder at Isk. She was still wet from waiding below the ocian’s surface. Her blue eyes glisined like saphires as she smiled at Gail. “I don’t whant to bother you for too long.” The hald demon just sighed and walked over to the valkurie.

 

            “What?” Gail was no more eager to talk to her now than he was befor. “Would you like to hold D’s ashes?” Isk offered the blue urn to Gail, but he just chuckled, on the brink of bursting into laughter. “What are the ashes of a loved one to you Isk?” The woman’s smile faided. “It’s the last thing they leave you. So natraly, you honnor it like a great gift. I think if you hold on to this you’ll probubly remember some grand times you had with D…” As Isk extended her arms further, Gail turned his head away from it and raised his hands, as if to ward it off. “You know what ashes are to me Isk?” Retracting her arms, the valkurie asked “No, what are they?”

 

 “There a wreched car. Ya see? D use to drive that vessle all over the place, and now it’s been trashed, so he’s hopefully gotten a new one by now.”

 

“Gail! This is more than a destroyed car… this is his memmory!” Gail just staired at the blue urn untill Isk slid it into a pouch with all the other ones. “You’ll see, once your head is clear of the black calamity, you’ll be glad I did what I did today.” She then brushed past Gail, only to be called back by the one who hated her. “Isk.”

 

“What is it Gail?”

 

“… I can’t say why, but I knew That would be the last time I saw D alive. I suppose I should have followed him, but he seemed so sure of himself, and perhaps the part of me that whanted to be his father whanted to see him succed on his own. Any time I use to think of D, I always remembered that little boy watching me leave with sad eyes. Now I always see him smiling…I can’t explain it.”

 

Isk looked over her shoulder at Gail as she spread her wings. “Gail… you care about what I think…” The half demon just scratched his head and walkd towards his ship. “Do I here a sword fight?”

 

“Yes Gail, That’s Midori, I saw her while I wascollecting the remains.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“A better question would be what will you do?”

 

“Well… I’ve gotta turn her in if you know right?”

 

“No, You need some replacements, and I can’t lend a hand right now.”

 

“So your suggesting I keep her?” Gail inquired.

 

“Do as you wish, it’s not my responsibility.”

 

Without a moments hesitation, Isk soared into the skies as Gail rushed over to his ship.

 

--PRESENT--

 

 

Gail turned over at Akasuki, who was sulking over her shattered blade.

 

"Well, ya know, the hilt's ok, so you still have all those moves."

"I guess you’re right, Gail, but I won't be able to participate in batles for a while. I guess you could use her instead, just don't let her..."

 

"...It doesn't even need saying " Gail said as he patted her on the back. “I just gotta figure out how to break it to the others... she's not very sociable."

 

"Where's Isk? Won't she tell everyone about her?"

 

"Naw, she departed before I got here, but if we do see Irvine or Mull...gee I don't know, I don't even wanna think about what would happen. Well, I've gotta keep an eye on her, who knows how many friends she has..."

 

The Half demon walked after Midori, allowing Akasuki to be alone with her weapon.

 

"I will rebuild it..." she said to herself. "...make it stronger.”

 

 

---

Might returns to the ship nursing his wounds and thinking, I was useless, I only held everyone back with being so cocky, and rushing in like a fool. Don't be so hard on yourself learn from your mistakes and use that knowledge to get stronger and become invaluable to the others. Walking the corridors of the ship and bumping into random members Might says, "First thing that i need to work on is my swordsmanship."

 "Maybe Gail or Akatsuki can help me improve." Says Might as he starts to search for either of them. "But i'll have to find them first." Says Might.

---

"Welcome to the eye of the storm"
"You're slow"-Might Psychic Force 2012

Check Out my RP Psych School
Or read my fanfiction: Eye of the Storm
"All psychicchers must die"

Killrock leaned at the edge of the ship, looking over the edge and calculateing the drop. "hmm..." he couldent hear it, but he picked up some vibrations in the floor bored, indicateing some one was trying to sneak away and turning around, the lights in his eyes narrowed. "Another lowly thief?" there , stood a man, holding a barrel of apples, his bakc turned to killrock, one foot off the ground when he intended on tipee toeing off the ship. "er...." the man spun around, only to revieal what it really was. although he wore a nice white butten up shirt and blue jeans. his hands were hairy and clawed, his feet although wearing red boots, the fronts seemed cut off to let his sharp toe nails show threw, and his head, was that of a wolfs's. "Well.....actually... im a sale's man!....er...care...to...buy....some of my apples?" The hucast, un amused, advanced falwards. "Just what are you doing here?" he tore the barrel of apples from the wolf man's grip. "And who and what the hell are you?"

This wolf man was sly, almoast to a sneaky exstent, he took a step sideways, pointing to Killrock with both his hands,, in a "buddy" typ gesture. "Well... you know the "who", I am a salesman, as for the "what", Many call me a "Furry"....and why im here, well" he spun around to take a run for it. but didnt get far before an apple slapped againsed the back of his head, sending the Salsman into the ground. "Carefull!, I have mutch more amunition" the Droid warned as he tossed the apple up and down a few times. "ah!, alright alright!" the wolf turned around and sat there, rubbing the back of his head. "you see, I travel around the worlds picking up Weapons from all over, marking them up, and selling them to Travelers who would by no means ever find them". a smirk came from the wolf, showing perfectly white...and sharp, teeth. "Like... its like me selling one of your Photon blades to one of thease citesens you see?, and say Its worth oh.. four hundred gold, I mark it up due to the exstream rareness of it in that world, and mark it up to athousend!" Killrock remaind there. "so....you Jip people?", "no no no no no!" he waved his hands. "Sounds to me like your just another thief "Salesman" " The Hucast marched over and began to drag the wolf with him. "Lets see what Akasuki has to say about you hmm?" The wolf laughed. "Oh, im sure she'll say im fine...harmless, infact, im so sure of it you can let me go right now!..." keeping his smirk, the wolf began to only think to himself. Heehee.....im gonna die.

---

Theres a hole in the world like a Great black pit and ists filled with people who are filled with ***!.

^Thanks to Eva ^__^ <3

As Midori closed the door that lead to the lower deck behind her, her attention shifted to the incoming hucast. He dragged the strange Wolf behind him, who sat cross legged and armed mumbling something of distaste.

 

"Excuse me, strange woman lady..." Killrock stopped just a foot or two away from Midori. "But I need to get through that door".

 

Midori glanced between the wolf and the hucast.

 

-"Killrock. I see time is not forgiving, even to one such as yourself."- she replied, hoping that Killrock would recognize her eventually.

 

"..." Killrock Dropped the wolf "You..." he now recognized her. "I know you..."

He tipped his head sideways. "I was going to hunt you down after this mission was all over".

 

A small CD slipped from his head and landed on his palm, which he shifted to her.

 

"You will take this off my hands, eh? Keep it safe, it is some of D's last moments."

 

The wolf, free from Killrock’s grasp, didn’t dare run off...yet.

 

The blonde huntress gazed at the CD in her hand curiously.

 

-"If you want to hunt me down, then why do you give me this?"- she replied while giving him a solemn stare.

 

"Ha ha, I said hunt, not kill."

 

Killrock reclaimed the wolf just as he attempted to run for it.

 

"I thought you might want to see how he fared without you."

 

Midori was unable to comprehend the hucast's logic, but followed along anyway.

 

-"I thank you for your good intentions."- she stated with a slight bow of her head.

 

"Not a problem. Now... would you mind gettig out of my way?"

He pointed for the door and the wolf-man struggled a bit, swinging around to face Midori as Killrock held him up.

 

"This...thing... was stealing our food."

 

Midori echanged glances with the creature for what appeared to be an eternity for the both of them.

 

-"He wasn't stealing any food, I was the one who sent him to fetch me some. He is my servant after all."-

 

Killrock looked at the wolf, who looked at her bewildered, then at Killrock, then at her.

 

"Er...ya! That’s it! Shame on you!"

 

Killrock took the wolf in both his hands.

 

"Then why didn’t you tell me this before?"

-"I instructed him to keep a low profile while I talked to Gail about our stay, seeing as how I was unsure we'd be allowed to. That's why he may have sounded nervous or attempted to create excuses for you to release him."- she explained. -"He really doesn't know how to handle himself under pressure."-

 

"Yup, she's righ- I mean, I am ashamed, Master!"

 

Killrock dropped the wolf.

 

"Alright... "

 

He had began to walk away when he whipped around.

 

"I still don’t think you could down an entire barrel of apples!"

 

And with that, the Hucast was off.

 

Midori saw the hucast off before being on her way, back to the business at hand.

 

-"You..."- she spoke withoutout even turning to look at the wolf -"What's your name?"-

"I’m.... the salesman?"

 

He grinned , both sly and showing much fear due to his ears drawing back.

 

"To tell you the truth, miss, it hasen’t been uttered in so long, I just lost track".

-"Salesman, huh? What do you sell?"- she inquired, now turning her gaze towards him.

 

"Well-eh..."

 

He looked through his pockets.

 

"Depends, lady. What’s your preference of weapons?!"

 

The young maiden rose an eyebrow.

 

-"You mean to tell me you carry weapons of all sorts within those pockets of yours?"- she asked skeptic.

 

"Eh heh....yes."

 

He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open, revealing large pockets that rolled out onto the floor.

 

"This shirt ain’t just a slick silk shirt! "

 

He pulled a large axe from it, even though there was no way it could fit into a pocket of that size.

 

Midori smiled faintly and chuckled.

 

-"Well, I guess you'll be even more useful than I’d predicted at first hand. Say, how about you join me for a drink?"-

" As long as you have a plate instead of a tall glass..."

 

His smirk widened and his ears perked up. In his own agenda, he’d just hit the jackpot.

 

 

---

When the Flying Dutchman finally came into view, Kiyo spotted two unfamiliar figures on the distant ship. One of them appeared to be a caped, blond-haired woman and the other strongly resembled a slim werewolf.

"Hmmm....reinforcements? Or intruders?" Kiyo pondered as he continued his approach.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE THIEVING BRAT!" a sudden shout pierced the uneasy, lulled atmosphere of the dock.

Out of mild curiosity, Kiyo glanced behind him and saw a ragged, little boy being chased a three armed, middle-aged men. The frantic youth seemed to have his arms wrapped around a rather large linen bag.

<Kiyoshi, you must-> Kintoki started.

"Not my problem..." Kiyo scoffed with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. The brawny silvermyth continued his stroll to the Flying Dutchman until he felt a sudden, sharp tug at his cloak. He turned and, to his surprise, no one was there except for the three armed pursuers running straight at him. Another tug drew his attention downwards. The little boy from not-so-long ago was pulling incessantly at Kiyo's cloak. Upon a closer look, the young lad's haggard, dirty appearance reminded Kiyo of a peasant: worn-down, stained clothing that almost qualifies as rags, various mud marks all over the body, dirt-caked skin, and messy, unkempt hair.

<Kiyo, just help the poor boy.> insisted Kintoki. The Crimson Soul ring on Kiyo's right ring-finger began to glow with an all-too-familiar, threatening glare.

"Go away." Kiyo growled, ignoring his mentor and pulling his cloak back. But right when he turned to leave, he found the persistent little pauper standing in front of him. With his patience running thin, Kiyo knelt down and, with a look of sheer murderous intent, stared straight into the obstinate youth's eyes. "I said leave. I won't warn you again." By the time Kiyo had grumbled his threat, the three pursuing men had caught up and started shouting multiple strings of curses and warnings.

"Help me." the boy demanded with fierce determination. An unnatural spark gleamed in the little beggar's eyes as he met Kiyo's menacing gaze with unshakable courage and defiance.

"No." Kiyo flatly replied.

"Then I'll hire you....." the confident peasant-boy started to rummage about his bag he pulled out a handful of ridiculously large rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other various jewels.

"I don't accept stolen gems."

"These are from the bandits' vault."

"Then why didn't you say so?" Kiyo sprung back to his feet and turned to face his new foes. With a twitch of his fingers, Kiyo lit up his fists with twin, blazing orbs of Suzaku flames. "Sorry, but the boy's loot is mine." Kiyo gave each of the three armed ruffians a long, arrogant gaze, as though he challenged them.

"Why you little..." growled the lead bandit, slowly inching forward with a large battle-axe raised.

"Wait, boss!" cried the shortest of the other two brigands. "He's one of them; the guys who wiped the floor with Cracklin Rose's best guards." But the warning either came too late, or the leader was just too thick-headed to listen.

"DIIIEEEE!!!" the bandit boss charged forward with his axe at the ready. Kiyo didn't even bother to move an inch from where he stood. "Quit lookin down on us!" the boss cried, unleashing a wide horizontal swing at Kiyo's neck.

"I'll stop looking down on you when you stop being such worthless trash." Kiyo replied, intercepting the bandit's axe with his left, burning fist. The foolish brigand gasped in horror as his weapon melted away within seconds, leaving him with nothing more than a charred handle. Kiyo then followed through with a swift, stone-crushing uppercut straight into his foe's chin, instantly breaking the poor man's neck and jaw before launching him into the air. Without a moment's hesitation, Kiyo snatched the airborne bandit by the foot and brought him crashing down into the dock's stone ground before tossing him into the nearby sea. The muscular Suzaku then turned his attention on the remaining two bandits, who were now trembling in fear. "I'll give you to the count of three...." Kiyo threatened. But he by the time he finished talking, the pair of bandits were already scrambling away, screaming in like little girls. After a few seconds, Kiyo eased up his magic, extinguishing the flames around his hands. He then turned and walked over to the boy, who simply gaped at him in awe.

"It's rude to stare, kid." Kiyo muttered as he collected his payment. "Pleasure doing business with you. Now get lost." But the boy stood his ground, refusing to move one inch. "Fine then, stay here and rot." Kiyo walked around the defiant youth and continued his way to the Flying Dutchman. Just as he neared the Silvermyth vessel, he noticed the dock workers staring suspiciously in his direction.

<Kiyoshi, the boy...> Kintoki murmured.

"You've got to be kidding me...." the cloaked Suzaku turned and, to his dismay, he saw the same boy carrying the same bag from earlier standing only a few feet away. "I'll commend you on your persistence, but this is a private vessel, and only Silvermyths are allowed on board."

"Take me with you..." the boy began to rummage about his bag again.

"Sorry, but no amount of wealth is gonna get you a ticket on this boat."

<Kiyo, haven't you noticed by now?>

"Notice what?"

<The boy is like us. He too, has powers. I sense the gift of Suzaku buried deep within him.>

"This petulant waif? Don't make me laugh. Even if he had a shred of potential, I don't even have the authority to recruit."

<Then test him and see. We can always take him to Gail and ask.>

".....fine then." Kiyo then turned his attention back onto the child before him. "Alright, boy. I'll consider letting you onboard if you can do this." Kiyo explained while opening his right hand and igniting a small fireball in his palm.

The determined youngster set down his bag, held out his right hand, and stared intensely at his grimy little palm in concentration. A weak, red glow began to manifest on the youth's palm. A few seconds passed by with no progress. Then the boy closed his eyes and his face quickly furrowed up in frustrated effort. But all he got was a steady stream of steam rising from his palm.

"See? Zero talent. Zero potential. Zero value." Kiyo scoffed as he turned to board the Flying Dutchman.

"Wait!" called out the now-desperate child. "Please, give me another chance! I won't let you down!"

"I highly doubt that. But fine, I suppose there's another way to prove your worth." Kiyo replied, facing the tenacious boy once more. He held out his left hand and pointed his palm forward. "Show me your strength. Right here, give me your best shot."

The ragged urchin almost instantly complied, pumping his arm back and driving his now-steaming fist into Kiyo's outstretched palm with all the power he could muster.

"Not too bad." Kiyo mentally noted. Despite the little tyke's weak looks, he packed an unusual amount of strength. Kiyo even felt a tremendous amount of heat flowing through the young lad's strike, burning his skin even through his gauntlet. "Alright. Grab your things and I'll take you to my commanding officer. If you're lucky enough, he'll consider sending for another ship to come and take you to the guild-"

"No." The boy interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"I want you to teach me."

Kiyo let out an explosive sigh, clearly at the end of his patience. 

"First off, I'm not an instructor. Secondly, I'm on a very important mission. Thirdly, you'll be a nuisance to me and the others. And finally, on the battlefield, you'll die like a dog."

"Well, I can at least stay on the ship. And I'm good at cooking so I can help the chefs and I'll stay out of everyone's way..."

"Look, this is the only chance you get. Take it or leave it." Kiyo glared into the boy's eyes before the child finally gave in and quietly gathered up his linen bag. "Now be quiet, and don't bother anyone." A few muffled laughs drew Kiyo's attention back to the ship. He quickly noticed a few of the guild sailors snickering at him. "What're you laughing at? Get back to work." After taking in a deep breath to regain his composure, Kiyo finally boarded the Flying Dutchman with the little boy close behind him.
"Oh yeah. Almost forgot..." Kiyo whispered to himself. He still had to confirm the identity of the two strangers on boat. It didn't take long for Kiyo to locate the caped, blond woman and the surprisingly well-dressed wolf-man from earlier. With the peasant boy in tow, Kiyo walked up to the two strangers.

"Since no one here is attacking you, I'll assume that you two are reinforcements. Do you know where Gail and Akasuki are?" Kiyo asked the blond maiden and wolfman.

 

 

 

 

---

            *Whack *

 

            *Crack *

 

            The 20-ton mining drill slowly borrowed into the earth at one of Kabrakia’s many mining sites. It stopped and rolled backwards after creating a small cavern. “That should be enough.” The black helmeted overseer said, adjusting his white tank shirt. “Now send the men in to mine up the artifacts.” “Sure thing baby!” his wool-capped apprentice slid down the side of the hill his boss was standing on and started to instruct the diggers what to do. There where at least 200 men lined up listening to the black man as he spoke. “Say, what are we looking for specifically?” one of the men in the back asked. “The ‘ultimate’ treasure.” His friend replied, ignoring the wool-capped individual. “What is it?”

 

            “I don’t know, he never really specifies.”

 

            “Who doesn’t?”

 

            “The one we call Marauder.” He pointed at the individual in the helmet.

               

            “Really now? So we have no idea what we’re looking for?”

 

            “Not a clue. Besides the fact that it’s an artifact of some kind…”

 

            “Hey! You jaw joggers in the back, how bout you exercise the muscles in those arms of yours instead?”

 

            “I guess ‘Jam’ spotted us, we’d best get to work. Part of me doesn’t wanna know what the bloody thing is.”

 

            Jam scrambled back up the hill to where the marauder was. “They have been directed sir!” “Good, but I think we have bigger problems.”  Jam looked over at the  marauder “Big, I don’t see anything out in all that sand.”

 

“That’s because he’s 3 feet tall.” The overseer started to walk threw the sand. “Make sure my men aren’t harmed, he’ll stop us at all costs.”

 

           Across an Adjacent hill about twenty feet away, there stood a small statured man, in a black uniform Decorated in silver ornaments. and a long Purple shaped helmet. witch looked like some kind of beast roaring. across his back was a long black blade the blade was thick and for now, some what slim. just staring at the Marauder and his mining operation. preparing his move. the man stood....short

the Mercenary known only as. Smally.

 

            "Hey!" one of Smally's companions Mike asked. behind Smally stood Mike and mark, two rather tall and slim guys in blue and red outfits. goggles to match and cloth over there face. "Secure my Exit" Smally spoke almost as if his voice