For Yoshi, stories of imperial guards and fighting and revolts were all too familiar, hit far too close to home. Especially in these recent times. It kind of sprinkled the imagination of the story with specks of dirt when the story that you tried to imagine came all too easily from your mind and had been forged into reality. Nevertheless, the boy was captivated by Keane’s storytelling and the tone of voice he used when explaining it. At least for a few minutes, the young boy could get lost in his imagination with the story and escape from the constant fear that plagued his life now.

Yoshi’s eyes widened with awestruck amusement while Keane reached the turning point in his story, and then finished. “Wow…” was all the boy could trail out with after Keane was done. Obviously, without Yoshi even having to confirm it vocally, he’d found the man’s story to be more than satisfactory. A new spark in his step, Yoshi nearly skipped to keep up with Keane. Even in the newfound silence, the young boy’s expression shone with delight; his eyes glowing while he stared ahead.

The unidentified woman still trailed behind, perhaps not ready to talk yet. Maybe too consumed by her worries and the possible nightmares she and her young companion had witnessed. Her footfalls were hardly audible on the ground, careful and timid.

Ayameko Misaki, on the other hand, continued to stretch onward, eyes fixed on the horizon now for the camp to sprout up at any given moment. She’d heard the Professor’s story and had recalled her own. Though she kept her words to herself for the time being, she did toss peeks back to the two men every now and again, curious of their interaction.

Having Yoshi around reminded Keane of his recently lost students. The awe that they had, or at least faked, for him was present in this young man. This was an uncomfortable thought process for him, as evidenced my his mental breakdown in the woods not that long ago. So, he moved hastily on to another story while observing the trail in front of them for rising buildings.

"You know, that reminds me of a funny tale bout the time I died..." The Professor stopped abruptly, his mind bolstering his worries about his lost comrades. He knew they could take care of themselves, sure, but not against a full battalion, or a squad of airships. He wondered if they had made it to safety somewhere yet. Again, Keane's thoughts would snap back to the present, where he had left his story off in the middle. He would hastily fumble for a speedy ending, so the kid wouldn't be left hanging.

"But then I was brought back to life by magic. Killed in the arena by someone that looked to be about your age, kiddo." somewhat satisfied at best with his own conclusion, Keane would again turn his attention to the woods around him, preparing himself for hypothetical problems.

Did he hear Keane correctly? he wondered, Did he speak of a time when he was dead? Dead as in…the past term, as in it already happened, and had in fact succeeded in happening for whatever amount of time. Young Yoshi blinked away the bewilderment from his bulging eyes. Surely the man had been kidding, or was trying to get a rise from the small boy, or just put a good scare in him and then follow the story with some kind of lesson or moral. Death, as it was, had been turning out to be a quite un-funny thing to him. But with Keane having trailed off in mid-sentence, and with Yoshi spotting the twisted, tortured look in the man’s eyes, the young boy couldn’t be too sure of anything anymore.

After all, he was living in a time where the government—the structure put together to keep you safe, lay down the laws to make everything fair for everyone, offer some kind of boundaries, and just overall keep everything running smoothly—had more or less turned itself out on its own people. Yoshi may have been a young boy, but he was observant, and this unfair and sudden change in his life weighed heavily on his little heart.

It wasn’t until Keane spoke up again that Yoshi realized he had lost himself to his own thoughts and despair. Brought back to life by magic? Could everything in the world then, be healed by this magic? Certainly such a magic that could bring someone back from the dead could turn this wayward mayhem back to the calm that it used to be.

“Really?” the young boy squeaked with his age. “You died, really? And then you were brought back to life?” The boy’s mystified eyes darted rapidly back and forth over Keane’s face while he awaited his answer. The boy’s awe wouldn’t allow his patience to last very long though. “A little boy killed you?” Yoshi was shocked into sudden silence momentarily, “How was he able to do that? You’re much taller than me!”

Up ahead, the boy’s innocence made Aya smile to herself. In a world as such they trudged through today, any kind of innocence was enough to lift a heavy heart. In the distance, she began seeing the makeshift shelters and the small amounts of smoke created by the controlled fires that had been made. She noticed, and respectfully agreed, that keeping the fires—and the smoke created by those fires—to an absolute minimum. They’d be back home shortly, and the two newcomers would be welcomed just as the Professor had been not so long ago.

Keane saw a troubled look on Yoshi's face and felt partially responsible. He didn't think to consider that such healing magic wasn't universally heard of. When the boy fired back with his questions, the professor would speak a little awkwardly: "Well, I may have been a bit misleading there. I wasn't really brought back to life. There is a compicated enchantment on many arenas today that sort of stops the dying process before you are too far gone. However, being blown to pieces before I was pieced back together, I'd say I came close enough to be legally deceased for a bit."

Keane chuckled a bit at his own remark before continuing on: "Also, it was a little girl, not a little boy... I think. She managed to get me by using a halberd larger than her along with manipulation of some extradimensional explosive energy. By the time I started taking the fight seriously and went in for the 'death' blow, the kid had amassed enough energy to tear apart the whole arena, me included. But enough about that, It's time we get you settled in to the camp. I'm sure you have been through a lot today. And I admit I was probaly partially responsible for it."

The camp was a welcome sight for Keane, and he felt reassured enough now to stay quiet again for a bit.

“Oh,” the boy sounded a little disappointed. So there was no magic that could turn everything right again. It figured. But that didn’t stop Yoshi from continuing to be completely caught up in Keane’s stories. “Wow, that’s so cool!” The excitement in the boy’s voice was obvious, and he wasn’t going to try to act nonchalant about it.

“You got beat by a girl?!” The boy crowed loud enough for the young woman traveling with him to gasp lightly and then jab a finger into the boy’s shoulder, causing Yoshi to catch his breath and dip his head a bit. He peeked around from the corners of his eyes to make sure no soldiers were rushing from the trees and then allowed his arms to sway freely at his sides, feeling a little better when seeing no approaching attack. He would’ve felt mighty guilty if he’d given them away. The young woman behind them had executed her own intake of their surroundings after the boy’s outburst, but she settled back into her stoic silence after a moment or two.

“Wow, she sounds mighty powerful.” This time his voice was quieter, having learned his lesson from the sharp jab to his shoulder. It stunk having to keep your reactions controlled. One day he’d learn. With Keane’s mentioning of a camp, Yoshi began scouring the horizons until he too spotted the makeshift shelters and the fires that had been built. “It’s no worries,” though the words came from the corner of his mouth, since the boy’s attention was directed on the sights of the camp they approached now. It seemed that finally, for once today, they were going to be safe, and it wouldn’t be some kind of insecure safety. “Will you tell me more stories once we’re settled?” The kid had made a friend.

Ayameko led them the rest of the way to the camp, and sure enough the young woman and Yoshi were greeted enthusiastically by other members of the camp, including the ones that had slowly fallen in the leadership roles of their little community. Without so much as learning the unidentified woman’s name, she was whisked away by other ladies to be cleaned up, all them assuring her in quiet murmurs that it was just fine to leave young Yoshi unattended for a little while. It didn’t take long for Yoshi to run into children his age and of other ages, exchanging names and introductions quickly. Aya stepped to the side to allow everything to fall into its place, and made her way back to the Professor.

“That was a very nice thing you did back there, Professor.” She smiled and made a gesture to Yoshi, who for the time being was still getting to know a few of the people around him.

Keane would laugh at Yoshi's exuberent reactions, remembering a time when he was so enthusiastic about new and interesting things that came his way. He would speak with a bemused tone: "Haha, someday Yoshi-san, perhaps you will learn there are no real gender barriers or even age barriers when it comes to getting beat up. Pray you never have to learn that lesson the hard way, by getting blown apart and then magically stitched together. Being shredded is not life's kindest teacher. And of course I will tell more stories when everyone is settled in."

Keane would watch happily as their new friends mingled with the camp residents, then turn to Aya when her question came. With a slightly sarcastic tone, he would replay: "Yes, not bad for an insane, battlecrazed old man, eh? But seriously, I would have been a lot colder to young Yoshi-san if I hadn't had the experiences I've shared with my young comrades. Learned a lot of valuable things from them. Charisma is among those things. And either way, it was the least I could do after sinking him neck-deep in mud."

With a chuckle reminsicent of a man much older than he, Keane would stare out into the sky, placing a hopeful expression on his face. "I love rain. I hope it rains soon. If it doesn't, I may just have to force it to."

With the promise of more stories, Yoshi had entered the camp and had welcomed the greetings with open arms. He didn’t give it much thought when the young woman he had been with was taken away by other members of the camp to get herself cleaned up, and the key to that ‘not minding’ was that the young woman didn’t seem to mind going and didn’t resist. Once the young woman was out of sight, Yoshi returned to answering questions and giving out introductions. He liked this attention! It was like arriving to your own welcome home party, except he wasn’t returning from anywhere, this wasn’t his home, and this wasn’t a party of any kind, let alone his party. But the boy went on his way, continuing to do what boys his age did.

He’d hold Keane to the promise of stories though, that was for sure. He knew that as soon as he could break free from the people around them, after all the immediate buzzing had calmed, he would return to Keane’s side, wherever he was at that time, and flood him with more questions and requests.

Aya smirked at the Professor’s response. “Now, Professor…” she began to interrupt him with a correcting look, but trailed off as the Professor continued. She chuckled at his joke at the end, and then took her time in replying to everything he had said. “Professor, you are not insane or battle-crazed or anything like that for that matter. You’ve proven yourself well this day, sir.”

She hung around the Professor quietly for a moment, crossing her arms at the wrist in front of her. “I doubt you would have been cold to the boy, he seems much too easy to like.” She smiled lightly, and for once the smile touched the corners of her eyes. “Your students sound very wonderful; I sure hope you’re able to make contact with them soon. Sounds like…that, even in the classic role of teacher and student—you being the teacher, and them the students—that the roles were reversed a little. Seems that in your duties of teaching them, they might’ve taught you a thing or two.”

With a wrinkle in her nose and a squint in her eye, Aya peered up to the sky as the Professor had, and gazed up to the spreading clouds above. She chuckled, “So hopeful you are for rain. I enjoy rain as well, and we do need it. I don’t think there will be a problem as far as rain coming.”

She glanced for but a moment at his hopeful expression, chuckling again, and turned to the sky once more. “If it fails to rain, and you make it, I’ll laugh.”

Keane could do little but smile serenely in response to Aya's kind words. However, being the kind of person he was, he couldn't manage to keep himself quiet. "Yes, certainly the student-teacher roles have been switched many a time between my students and I. They have taught me much. From the importance of shutting up once in a while, to vagueness in teaching style, to proper firefighting techniques... Always the excitable one, that pyromancer friend of mine." At this point Keane would instinctively rub a part of his eyebrow permanently singed off.

Looking skyward once more, Keane would laugh a little bit more youthfully, grasping at another chance to display his intelligence and say: "Haha, just point me to a nearby lake or river and I can show you how it's done. It's really just a matter of flinging water high enough in the air that it reaches terminal velocity on the way down. That pretty accurately simulates the effect of rain. To make legitimate rain would require a day or two in advance to hydrate the sky."

Settling down a bit, Keane would decide he had said enough for the moment. He still had some practice to do with the whole 'shutting-up' thing. He would end by trying to save face with just one more thing. "That is, if it doesn't rain by itself first. Good day for it, I think."

She couldn’t help but chuckle at the Professor’s comments about his students, especially the ‘pyromancer’ he talked of. Such interesting people, all belonging to such a small group, together, and yet here the Professor was without them, and she could see it wounded him.

Aya hadn’t noticed it before, and it wasn’t until the Professor rubbed his brow, that she noticed the forever singed area. Widened eyes were followed by a short gasp, and hands rose to cover her mouth, stifle her chuckling. “Oh, no!” she laughed, “That’s terrible.” Another snicker or two, and she straightened herself out. Referring to his brow, “Did it hurt? What happened exactly?”

Not being able to quite wrap her mind around all the technicalities of making the sky rain, she shook her head slowly back and forth, a brow arching in a hushed sort of awe. “I can’t imagine seeing something like that, let alone being the one to make it happen!” An eye was raised to the sky as well, and she took note of the weighty clouds that seemed to swell in the horizon. Rain didn’t seem impossible on this day, but they would have to see for certain.

“I think we will get the rain, Professor. Surely, we need it. Certainly wouldn’t hurt to soften the ground for our feet, eh?” A joke of course, for the ground was never quite soft enough to make long treks comfortable, and definitely was never soft enough to supply luxury bedding material at night.

“Tell me more about your students, Professor. They sound wonderful.”

In the distance, the sounds of children laughing and playing rose and fell each time they came closer and further away, respectively. Aya couldn’t help but imagine Yoshi being one of those children in the distance, for surely in fact he was even though she couldn’t see him at this moment. In her imagination, Aya saw the boy running and grinning, his heavy heart light for this day thanks to the Professor.

Upon the reaction to Keane's singed eyebrow, the nearly four-decades-old professor would laugh nostalgically. "That happened about a year ago today. I made the mistake of having my students practice too closely together, and placed my aeromancer next to my pyromancer. Oxygen fans flames, flames become harder to control, and I am left with several painful burns. At least the other ones aren't really visible. and yes. It hurt. Quite a bit, thank you very much."

At this time, the professor would start spinning an orb of water on the palm of his hand at a very high speed, to keep his subconscious mind occupied, and to keep it from it's task of flooding his mind with ideas and excess thoughts. "I certainly do hope it rains. I don't know how many more days I can wait before I get impatient about it and stop letting nature do the work."

With a wistful grin, he would begin speaking in glowing terms of his students. "Well, the first student I found was young Hideki Arata. He was the one responsible for my missing facial hair. Interestingly, he already had a very good aptitude for spells, and needed no help on that front. He wished me only to help him control his powers and himself. He was a pyromaniac, you see. Addicted to his own powers.

"Second came Ichiro Makoto, the aeromancer. He was a valued addition to the team, because his aloof mannerisms were a constant reminder to let small things go, and focus on the important things in life. He came to me with an innate sense for toxins on the air, but not much else. He is now excelling in wind magics, bubble magics, you name it. Quick learner that one.

"Third, Yori Katsuro. He was the most down-to-earth of any of us, no pun intended. He is a geomancer, you see. He has the peculiar feature of being unable to show any true emotions he might have. The four other students and I have a running pool to see when he finally snaps. Anyway, he wanted me to teach him abilities to alter the nature of earth, rather than just move it. He could have pulled off that mud trick back there without any water or really as much effort.

"Fourth came Taro Daichi. He was adept in the most recent kind of magic I've ever heard of. Not many people these days can claim to be a metallomancer. He came to me with both anger issues and a determination to make his spells a little less lethal. Not a good combination. You see, metallomancy tends to leave a lot of sharp edges, and accidents happen... However, he is progressing nicely.

"Lastly, Ryoichi Otonashi, the student I have most taken under my wing. He came to me with, wouldn't you know it, great proficiency in hydromancy. Not only that, but he knows how to manipulate ice, whereas I have a strict 32 degree limit. He has promised to teach me the secret when he figures it out. He has always been a little timid, that Ryo. However, he has gained enough confidence to be a reliable de facto leader for splinter teams when they occur. In fact, at the infamous day three battle, he was invaluable to efforts to keep the populace alive."

Upon mention of day three, the professor would fall silent for a moment and recall the battle. He was happy to relate the story, as always, but this one carried a bit of sadness to him. "So, I suppose that's my entire school. I have been unfortunate in the realm of newer recruits, but I have been given an offer by a rather powerful man to establish a training center here in Cizok if the current national strifes go a certain way... So here's hoping!"

The professor would look up once more at the clouds with an almost disapproving expression.

With the Professor’s story, Aya’s face scrunched in sympathy. “Oh, ouch. Sorry to hear about that. At least it looks like you came away from it just fine, and a better man for it!” Another attempt at a light-hearted joke, but this one didn’t seem to strike as much amusement as the first, if her first one even struck any kind of humor with the man. She watched the Professor and his orb of water quietly, and in the back of her mind she waited for the coming rains.

But when the Professor began to speak again, Aya left the confines of her thoughts and listened to the man’s story of his students. She had, after all, asked. She slowly nodded in response to each student’s name he mentioned—there were a good few, and each name caused a light pang within her—she wondered if the Professor would ever see his students again, and would she ever get to meet them?

It was one thing to be aware of the existence of other people. Sure, when they were just numbers, dots from high above, it didn’t really hit you as hard. But when those numbers, those dots from high above were given names and zoomed in on, respectively, they became more clearly focused. They were suddenly given personalities, histories, lives, breath—and each became a personal, individual loss.

At his mention of Day Three, and his last student in particular and that student’s involvement in the battle, Aya gawked at the Professor in silence for a few moments. She hadn’t been present during Day Three, thankfully, but her father had. She wondered if his student had come across her father. These small thoughts quickly consumed her and she felt the urge to dive into more questions. Instead, she regained the control on her thoughts and expression, and nodded again. “Really? Day Three, hm? He must be very brave.” Hopefully he made it. Hopefully they all made it. She wouldn’t further touch on Day Three.

“Yes, to hoping.” She’d almost repeat him exactly, and then turned her eye to the sky once more, watching for the rain. Funny, how it was almost a double-meaning in her and the Professor’s words. Hoping was such a simple thing, and yet, so complex in these days. Not only that, but they could hope for distant things such as resolution and peace, new job opportunities and like. At the same time, they could hope for more immediate things that were less pressing; rain.

After another few long moments of hoping and sky-gazing, the swollen clouds would heave from the sky and would open up, releasing its long-awaited downpour with just its first few drops.

"Yes, he is very brave. Although I suppose yo would have to be to leave your country and follow with some nomadic school that happened to be pasing through. You know, perhaps that is why I don't have as many members as I would like." With a humorous grin, he would feel a few drops on his head. Grin growing wider, he would throw his attention back up towards the heavens and revel in the precipitation.

With a quick look back at Aya, his current companion, he would do something considerate with his powers for the first time in a good while: He would create a ten foot by five foot rectangle in the middle of the air of solid water, partially made of the water he had on hand and a few seconds of light rainfall. this ended up forming an effective umbrella, a gap in the storm where no rain could penetrate. "If you don't care to get wet, either go inside or take cover under the rectangle. I plan to be out here for quite some time, myself."

Close inspection would reveal that the rain didn't actually cling to Keane's skin, clothes or glasses, but instead rolled off as droplets on a window sill. With a laugh much more youthful than many of his previous laughs, he would begin gathering water and manipulating it into designs. Already though, the strain of casting was taking a slight toll on him.

When the heavens decided to part and the clouds burst with their weight, the skies rained down such a thick sheet of rain in such a sudden time, that everyone in the camp was caught off guard. People were scurrying around to gather belongings and such, and although they were grateful for the rain, the majority of them sought the cover of their makeshift shelters. The children continued to run in their small mob, laughing and screeching with the sounds of childhood. But even they, after a few extra minutes, began to seek out the shelter of their families and dry places. Those who didn’t go willingly were commanded by their parents.

Few people remained outside in the downpour, but those who did just simply enjoyed the relief of the saturation. Even if the Professor hadn’t efficiently created an umbrella-type craft with his ability, Aya would’ve remained out in the rain. She enjoyed rain too much to run away from it, and she didn’t mind getting wet. Since the rain hadn’t caught either of them off guard, she simply closed her eyes as to not get rain in them and turned her countenance skyward, welcoming the millions of drops to her face. Laughing lightly, her nose wrinkled and she lowered her face once more and took the offered shelter under the Professor’s umbrella.

“No, Professor, I’m alright. A little rain never hurt anyone. But I will make use of your umbrella!” Using her already soaked hands, she pointlessly wiped at her face, trying to smear off the water. It didn’t take long at all for the entire area to become drenched around them. “So you like the rain, Professor? I do.”

Upon noticing the fact that the drops of rain didn’t really hit him but in fact rolled from him, Aya smirked. Seemed the Professor was full of surprises. She watched him make the designs with water, and tried to disregard the toll it took on him. “If it tires you Professor, why do you continue?”

Then, touching on a bit of their conversation from a bit earlier, before the rains, Ayameko brought up the Professor’s past again and hoped it didn’t bring him sadness. “I’m sure you’ll have better luck with your number of members.”

In the distance, a familiar form could be spotted heading towards them. Young Yoshi, soaked through and through, hair wetly matted to his forehead and temples, matching everything with the rain—made his way slowly towards them, sloshing through the squishy ground with the kind of grin on his face that only a child could have.

Finally, enough water was being poured down to allow Keane do do more impressive things. When first the rain started coming down in sheets, the professor would use a small amount of water to suspend himself in the air, and intentionally crete an angelic looking pose, complete with aqueous halo. "Of course, Miss Aya! The rain is one of the few passions in my life! It is one of the main reasons I took the initiative to learn my magic art!"

He was gaining a second wind from his new practice. It had been a long time since he had been able to work with such a substantial amout of water. He no longer hyperventilated- the sound of panting was replaced by joyous laughter. "It is a good kind of tiring, Miss Aya. The kind experienced through a hard day of work doing something you love, or a contest of skills with an old friend. And frankly, I have not yet begun to cast!"

His angelic form melted away, as he sat cross legged on a small platform of water about five feet off the ground. He would move his arms like conductor's batons and create elegant swirls in the air,The trails of water in the air would come down to the ground and slowly form a humanoid shape. With the focused appearence of a sculptor, Keane would create a liquid duplicate of himself, with the water staff he had made previously in hand.

He heard Aya's comment about his school and flashed an appreciative smile. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to the child rushing to their location. with a wave of his arm, matched by the duplicate on the ground below, he would yell: "Yoshi-san! Why don't you come under the umbrella? It's a great day!"

The young woman chuckled amusedly at the Professor’s makeshift halo and holy posture. She was glad she’d found someone with a sense of humor. A questioning brow arched as she watched him, awaiting these further creations that he promised through his laughter. It seemed as though he wasn’t as tired or drained from the efforts put forth anymore; and this was good because she enjoyed the antics he performed. Aya eyed the duplicate of the Professor made of water and laughed aloud. “Oh, Professor-you’ve made a friend!” Curiously, she continued to watch the shapes and the formations of the water he formed and shook her head in amazement. “I never would’ve imagined such things existed…”

Her attention was drawn to the approaching of the young boy…

The bounding boy skittered to a splashy halt when he saw the aquatic formation of the cloned Keane. With a tilt of his head, he smirked both at Keane and at his clone, using both hands to equally match the duo’s waving and he waved in return to them vigorously. At Keane’s invite, Yoshi treaded and jumped through the muddy puddles and flooding grounds closer to them; the rain was really falling now. He wasn’t quite sure how Keane could consider this a great day, being an adult and all, but maybe he was one of those rare adults that enjoyed the same things as children did. All Yoshi knew was-this was perfectly wonderful weather for getting dirty and wet!

With another bounce into a puddle, the boy reached his destination to the two and grinned at Keane; choosing not to take refuge under the umbrella where Aya sat. Instead he happily soaked up the downpour and waved shyly at Aya. Sure he could attach himself to someone like Keane, and even the younger woman he had traveled here with-but that had only been because she’d been all he had. When it came to girls, he still considered some of them to have cooties, and he thought he’d spotted a cootie or two on Aya. “Will you teach me how to do that some time, Keane?” the boy asked hopefully.

Aya returned the gentle wave to the boy and found the humor to herself in his shyness. She wondered briefly where the young woman the boy had been with had wound up, but she assumed the women of the camp were tending to her needs just fine and she was in good hands; and staying out of the rain like she and the two with her should’ve been doing. But, she supposed, perhaps this rain ushered in the arrival of a new day; a new beginning; a second chance- one could only hope. Even in her happy moment, Aya wouldn’t allow her father’s death to go on in vain.