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"Um... Is it really safe to wearing those to the table?" Nahara pointed out towards Vahn's greaves, causing Hibon to look down as well, but finding nothing wrong with them. Dain laughed to himself, as he continued scramblign eggs, as Vahn looked down to his feet, then back to the girl.

"Eh? You can see it?" The fighter was mildly surprised, considering that the faint, passive aura of his greaves wasn't visible to the naked eye.

"Yes..." Nahara replied, not sure if the fact that she could see it was a bad or good thing.

"Really? Your not a master fighter... or that high of a mage..." Vahn scratched at the top of his head, genuinely curious, as he leaned in to inspect the girl, causing her cheeks to flush scarlet. "Huh? Maitreyopts?" Staring so close, Vahn could see the nromal hue of colors that belong to the Stratanians.. but he could also see something more in them. "I see. They're maitreyopts. That would explain how your able to see it."

"Mai...Maitreyopts?" Nahara was more than a little confused, as she tried not to let her eyes wander over the man's chest. "What is that? Are you referring to my eyes?"

"Yeah! Your eyes are maitreyopts. Didn't your grandfather tell you?"

"Ohohohohoho... that's because we don't call them maitreyopt's, Vahn. We refer to them as Ava's eyes..." Dain turned around, heading towards the table and carrying heaping plates of food.

"Chih.. come on old man-- they are on and the same. Maitreya's original name was Ava. Religious people beleive that one day Maitreya will return and redeem them." Vahn slid out a chair next to Sunstrike, settling in and letting his arms hang loosely. "They say that the eyes of Maitreya can discern from truth and lies..." He raised his left arm, index finger pointing towards Nahara. "You have those eyes."

"No... What am I looking for?" She looked across the table at Sunstrike, not quite sure what he meant in all honesty. Hibon stared up, his mouth full of toast and sausage.

Vahn stabbed his fork into a bit of sausage, raising it to his lips snap off a chunk with a snap of his teeth. "You're supposed to be a maitreyopts. Can't you see what he is?"

Dain glanced up from his coffee, looking first towards Vahn, then back to Nahara, as Nahara kept staring towards Sunstrike. "Yes... I see him perfectly." She smiled softly a flush coming to her cheeks. "And what I see... through these eyes... Is a spirit who hides his pain with jokes."

Hibon and Vahn continued their voracious devourment of everything on the table, while Dain merely chuckled, holding his cup of coffee up.

"You've gotta be kidding me." the fighter said, his mouth stuffed with bread, and a cup of orange juice in his hand. "All I see is a guy that kept me up last night with his damn snoring."

"And what's that just supposed to mean?" Vahn placed his juice down, grabbing the other man and trying to whar an arm about his neck, while Nahara simply watched the side banter.

"Hibon, don't forget to tell Commander Daus that you'll be excused from all Militia duties, as you have a special assignment to carry out." Dain said, stirring the straw around in his cup.

"I'll be on my way there today."

"Militia?" Vahn turned his head away, forgetting the horseplay with Sun for now, as his curiousty got picqued.

"Uh-huh." Hibon stared across the table at the older man, picking at his eggs as he did so. "At one time... Our family was reknowed for having started the Militia.. my dad was in charge of it. Now. though, even dogs laugh at our family name..."

The mood in the room dropped, getting quiet and sullen, as Hibon stabbed again at his plate. "Humph! That's why I get angry at myself! My father was recognized for his skills and joined the Militia as a lowly soldier... he rose up the ranks."

"......." Vahn stared at the boy, yellowed eyes passively watching.

"I... haven't been so successful." He clentched the fork hard, as he lowered his head, suddenly feeling his eyes get watery as his emotions rose. "I...I... Last night, you called me a coward!!" Hibon's teeth were clentched, as he fought back the tears. "I hate being called that!"

Hibon turned his head tot he side sharply, as he wiped his forearm across his eyes, to prevent any crying in front of everyone. "Maybe you're... right..." He sat sideways in the chair, staring to the floor now. "I was... born afraid." He was obviously oblivious to moments when he wasn't at all afraid... perhaps a side effect of going berserk...? "But... But even... Even I can't stand myself for being such a coward. I was always afraid that my parents had been ashamed of me... and I couldn't stand it anymore! That..." He lifted his head up, looking to everyone else, cautiously, not really feeling like himself. "That's why, I joined the militia..."

"....." Dain smiled to himself, as he lifted the cup of coffee to his lips.

"Ha ha..! I see..!" Vahn leaned back genuinely, actually smiling as he reclined backwards, his chair tipping a bit. "Hey! Are you that ashamed of being afraid?" He said, with a wave of his right hand.

"Of... Of course!" Hibon stared at Vahn, thinking he was crazy for asking him a question with such an obvious answer.

"Ha!" Vahn tilted his head back, arms dangling loosely as he leaned back. "I once kenw a man who was very strong... He was very level headed... Whatever the situation, he was never afraid."

"..." Everyone else was quiet in the room, wondering where Vahn was going with this.

"But you know what...? When he was a child he had a reputation for being a coward. But he was determined to change that." Yellowed eyes gleamed, as a big grin spread out across his face. "Gradually, one by one, he overcame all the things that he feared... even when he was so afraid that tears flowed... so afraid that he peed in his trousers...He never closed his eyes." A dull thudd as the chair landed on the ground, Vahn slowly rising up out of the seat. "And when there was no other fear to overcome..." Yellowed eyes narrowed, as both hands landed firmly on the table, standing as he looked towards Hibon. "..His eyes were looking down at the whole universe!"

"R-Really?" Hibon stared up at the fighter, a little awed by the story.

"Yep!" A peice of toast wa shanging out his mouth, as he picked up his glass of juice. "Listen up!" He swirled the glass' contents around as he smiled down at the younger man. "People consider fear to be a weakness..but harnessing that fear can one day make you a mighty warrior."

"Alright!" The now empy glass came thumping onto the table, as Vahn wiped his lips with his forearm. "I'm going to get my sword."

Nahara, pushed away from the table, standing up as she started collecting the plates. "I have some things to take care of myself..."

"I've got to report to the Field Office.." Hibon said, scraching the back of his neck thoughtfully.

"Ohohohoho... busy, busy." Dain remained seated at the table, calmly eating his food.

"Yea, sure. Come'on and grab your stuff already."

Grabbing, a simple cloak, he continued walking on downstairs.

"How are our plans progressing?"

The voice rang out throughout the confines of the room, pale light gleaming along the walls. The air was slightly stale and musty, giving reason to beleive that this room was underground, away from the surface. Around a feeble table, sat three old men, their faces concealed by golden skull masks, and flowing cloaks upon their bodies.

"Don't worry. Everything is going as planned..." A white beard flowed out from the edges of the mask, doing away with the short lived silence, as the other two men simply watched.

"How can I not worry? If word gets out about our schemes, we're bound to suffer dire consequences-- more terrible than the Gulag." One of the masked men said, standing up aruptly as he grew intense in his voice.

"You really frighten too easily. It's too late to go back. Our plans have already begun." Another of the men responded in kind, signaling to his companion to get back into his seat. "Now... All we can do is look ahead and hope for the best."

"That's true." A murmer of agreement, as one of the men began pouring drinks for the other two. "Soon the war will pick up again... The question is how much time can it buy us to sucussfully implement our plan and---"

"Wait a minute."

Two of the men glanced up towards the speaker, wondering what could be the matter now.

"Have you forgotten about the 'Fire Bringer', Vahn?" It was a valid question, and the othe two men didn't have a problem with it. In fact, they were unusally calm about it.

"You don't have to worry about him. When they escape, Vahn will be given the task of capturing them. And instead of disposing of them, he himself will be the one to die." Grim chuckles erupted from the old man, as he sipped at the cup of tea he'd been offered.

"Don't you remember what he did Fifty years ago?" The man seemed to be stressing the amount of danger involved, since Vahn was about now, but the other two would not have any of that.

"It appears the one who doesn't 'know' is you. The present day Vahn is nothing but a tiger with no teeth." A soft clack, as the now empy cup of tea was palced down onto the table, and a grim smile spread across the face of the speaker.

"What are you saying..?"

~~

"You didn't really need to come you know." A hand rested along the back of his neck, scratching idly as he moved down the street, still getting used to the heat that seemed to love beaming down on him.

His head turned idly, as he looked towards Sun, yellowed eyes a soft hue, as he yawned suddenly. "Feels strange being here again..."

A soft smile spread across his face. But this wasn't Vahn's face... as a water bottle was lifted and pressed to soft lips, the contents slushing around before going down the person's throat.

"Vahn... huh...."

Way up in the sky, literally hanging upside down, as though he were walking on the air, was a young man, with flowing hair behind his back, a simple cloak fluttered out behind him, even as he swished his water bottle around again... before simply vanishing.

He walked to the border of this southern continent. In front of him, all he could see was a desert wasteland of sand and the souls of the dead who wnadered here and only died. He stared at the unforgivign terrian and thought the fastest and best way was to travel upon the back of dragons. Before he summoned themm, he knelt to the edge of the boder in the desert sand. Using the easily cntroled powers of heat, he burned the sand and inscribed a symbol. This symbol, now made a of thick and heavy glass, would teleport him back here usign his Flash Fire technique incase he couldn't survive the hot and sandy land. Satisfied with his work, he pulled out a small, fire-proof container. From that, he a pulled a card from it. He threw it to the ground, and called his beast's name. Neo Salamandra! Once this red and black winged-dragon was summond, he palced the card back int eh container which went into his pocket, and he jumepd into the small compartment on the dragon's neck where he sat. Sally, I want you to fly low here through the desert. IF a storm approachs, we need to go by feet and you need to clsoe yoru wings. Other wise, you won't have them anymore, all right? Great. Let's move! She tooks off with a great start. Soon, she was able to glide easily in th sandy terrian. He flyign left a distinctive long amrk in the sand from her wake. He paid no attention to it. All he was worried about was the length of the desert and how many stops he woudl need.