Disclaimer: Tales of Destiny, its characters, and its world belong to Namco. There's a copyright already, in other words! Don't try to take credit for the game, or this story for the matter, or you will have some really angry people coming after you. *_* I hope you guys like this story!
Started: January 15, 2000
Finished: February 11, 2000

The weather was, to put it mildly, as sweltering as anything could possibly get without being arrested for something illegal. Then again, Mother Nature couldn't get arrested, so it probably was more sweltering than that. Either way, it was hot -- an understatement that would haunt many for years to come. All in all, it wasn't exactly the sort of day to be traveling in.

Sadly for Stahn Aileron, getting indoors wasn't exactly a luxury he was allowed to have at the moment. He staggered around the port after his companions, whining about the weather as he went on. It wasn't fair. All he had wanted was to get away from Lienea and see the world, and now he was forced into accompanying the boy-genius-swordsmaster of Seinegald to the hottest continent known to man.

He personally believed he must have offended Atamoni in some way to get this sort of punishment.

"Country boy!!" Rutee Katrea shouted, hands on hips as she looked back at him. "What are you doing?? Hurry up before we leave you behind!"

The blond sighed and wiped sweat from his brow before hurrying after the black-clad girl. The three remaining members of their party stood near the exit of the port, waiting for them. Leon Magnus, the appointed head of the group and the youngest member, wasn't waiting all that patiently. "I'm always waiting around for you morons," he stated, throwing heated looks at the two. "We don't have all day, you know!"

Mary Argent, the eldest of the group at twenty-four, sighed. "This isn't the place for this," she remarked. "People are going to start staring."

"We're alienated enough as it is," agreed Philia Felice, a priestess of Atamoni. "We don't want people thinking we're crazy, also."

The four Swordians in the group, owned by everyone but Mary, remained silent; Philia and Mary were as much the voices of reason as they could ever be with Stahn, Leon, and Rutee. And that wasn't saying much. "Well, don't be such an uptight munchkin!" Rutee retorted at Leon, poking him in the forehead with her index finger.

"Munchkin!?" repeated Leon, smacking away Rutee's finger and glaring daggers into her. "Why you--"

"With that kind of attitude," Rutee suddenly started, "I don't see how you got to be in favor with the king-- AHHHHHHHHH!!" The electric tiara on her forehead suddenly released electricity, and she shuddered as pain flooded her body. She fell backwards, right into a dumbfounded Stahn's arms.

Leon sneered down at her, holding the small controller for the tiaras in one hand. "Oops," he said lightly, "nervous twitch." Rutee glowered at him, but didn't speak again.

"Bad form, Leon!" Stahn growled, frowning. "That's an unfair advantage!"

The sixteen-year-old averted his gaze to the older boy, violet eyes glittering angrily. "Why do you think it's still called an 'advantage?'" queried Leon, pointing the controller at Stahn threateningly. He definitely didn't look like he was in the mood to be challenged again.

Stahn swallowed hard and shut his mouth, helping Rutee to her feet. Leon spun on his heels and strode ahead, followed by the rest of the group.

After the meeting with Baruk Songram, the group of five headed back out to get into the blistering sun. Stahn whimpered as he stood in the doorway, staring out at the outside that just burned with heat. He didn't want to go back out there! . . . Unfortunately, he had no say in that decision, as Leon lost his temper once again and placed his boot on his back, shoving him forward and to the ground.

Stahn spat out sand and coughed, pushing himself to his elbows with his eyes closed. Philia, eyes wide with concern, knelt down next to him, exclaiming, "Are you all right, Stahn?" When her answer came back as a ragged cough, she directed the closest thing to a glare she could muster at Leon. "Leon, you didn't have to do that! That wasn't necessary!"

Leon frowned and crossed his arms, looking away. "He was asking for it," he snapped.

Rutee, not caring at the moment if she was going to get electrified, grabbed Leon by the hair and yanked at it. "You awful little bastard!" she hissed, bodily shoving him into the sand as well. "I'm really getting fed up with your stupid attitude, Leon! All you do is insult us and treat us like dirt, you jerk!!"

The boy stared at her in shocked surprise, then scowled. "If I treated you like dirt," he began, one hand grasping at the sand underneath him, "I'd have thrown you away without a worry!" He then threw the sand at Rutee, pushing himself to his feet and running out of sight.

Philia was helping Stahn to his feet as Mary made her way to Rutee's side. The black-haired girl was still seething as Mary began speaking. "I know he had that coming, Rutee," she started, pushing a few strands of red hair from her face, "but don't you think that was just a little harsh? He's still just a kid, you know?"

Rutee's pinched face slowly lost its venom, and her shoulders sagged slightly. ". . . You think so?" she murmured. Mary squeezed her shoulder, and the girl sighed. "I should go after him, shouldn't I?"

Mary smiled slightly, for once showing through with the maturity that came with age. "I'm glad you understand," she said. "We'll be waiting outside of town, okay?" She motioned for Stahn and Philia to follow her out, smiling encouragingly at her friend before walking out of sight.

Rutee sighed, shook her head, and walked off in the direction Leon had left in.

She found him sitting on the stone port, legs dangling off the side of the dock as he stared at the water. Rutee walked until she was a just a few steps away from him, noting that it was a lot cooler close to the water. "Leon?"

To her surprise, Leon didn't tense or jump to his feet at her voice. His head fell, bowed, and he gripped the stone tighter. ". . . . What do you want?" The boy's voice sounded tired -- filled with weariness that didn't befit his age.

Rutee crouched, not reaching out to touch Leon; she knew he would reject her touch were she to ever offer it. "Look, Leon," she murmured, glancing around, "this . . . isn't easy for me to say, but. . ."

"Are you going to apologize?"

She blinked at his question. "Umm. . ."

"If you are, don't."

His abrupt statement startled and baffled her. "Why not??" she demanded.

Leon turned his head enough that he could see her through one eye. "There's no reason for you to," he replied. ". . . I've been acting like a moron, and I know it."

Silence came to life between the two for a few seconds, then died at Rutee's next question. "Why? I mean, you don't have to be so mean to us, Leon. It's. . . We can all live without it."

He stood up and brushed himself off, grains of golden sand falling from his blue uniform. Frowning, he removed his pink cape and shook it to remove some of the dust and sand. He didn't put it back on, but instead lowered his head again. "It's the way I am," he said solemnly. It surprised Rutee that someone so loud could also sound so quiet. "I don't open myself up to people and, as a result, rarely put up with others."

Rutee's brow shot up, and she smirked softly. "Then why are you putting up with us or, for that matter, talking to me?"

Leon looked at her with sad, violet eyes, and immediately Rutee had the answer to the first part of her question. He liked them. Rembrandt and Baruk had been right -- he did like them. But then why was he talking to her. . .? She searched for the answer in those eyes, but found nothing. Apparently, he could still hold mystery in a saddened gaze. He was good at this.

". . . Come on," she finally said. "Let's go back to the others."

The boy sighed, closed his eyes, and nodded.

For some reason or another, Rutee felt somewhat depressed walking alongside the young swordsman on their way out of Cherik. He hadn't spoken since they had departed from the docks, loosely holding his cape under one arm as they walked. Without his cape on, Rutee could see that Leon was quite thin for a growing boy; it was shocking how strong he actually was despite being underweight.

In order to leave Cherik, the two foreigners had to pass by a well in front of Baruk's office. A pair of kids stood around it, the girl of the pair rolling a smooth rock around the edge of the well, as if daring it to fall in as she rolled it. The boy, a black-haired youth wearing red and black, turned to see Leon and Rutee walking past them. A slow smirk made its way on his face. Time for a little fun.

"Strangers!" he called, raising his hand in greeting. "Hey, do you wanna play tag with me?"

Rutee, not in the mood for games at all, replied, "No, we're not interested."

The smirk became a taunting sneer in an awfully short moment. "Oooh. You don't have enough guts to take on a kid, huh? Especially the elder's son!" he jeered. "All foreigners are lame like you!!"

Leon, having returned somewhat to his normal, easily-annoyed self, spun on his heels and strode back to the kid, who was at least six years younger than him -- at the maximum, nine years. "'Don't have enough guts?'" he murmured, looking at the boy with cool, purple eyes.

"That's right!" confirmed the haughty little boy. "All you foreigners are the same!"

Leon averted his gaze back to Rutee, who looked blankly at the teenage master swordsman for a second. Something stirred inside of her upon seeing a growing fire in the boy's eyes, and she firmed her chin and nodded. Leon's eyes went back to the boy. "All right, we'll play," he said coolly.

The elder's son smiled in satisfaction. "Okay, let me get ready then." He gestured for the girl, who had been watching the exchange in amusement, and hurried off to gather three other kids -- two boys and another girl. They giggled in mischievous delight in a small group, glancing at the two teenagers every few moments. Their giggles grew louder in volume, and then subsided as the kids ran around, asking villagers to clear the area and help them set up orange cones. The villagers, apparently knowing of their games, agreed and went indoors, leaving the children to their devices.

"So, do you know how to play tag?" the black-haired boy queried as his friends set up the field.

Leon snorted and crossed his arms. Even though he had never played the game in his life, he had heard of the game before. "Of course I do," he replied.

"That's a surprise," the boy remarked snidely, sneering at Leon, "'cuz usually the foreigners don't know what tag is."

"I don't like your attitude, kid," Rutee murmured.

Leon had to smirk at that. He said lowly to the younger boy, "She says that a lot."

The sneer somehow loosened into a small grin at his remark. "Heh, she looks like she would," he chuckled. Then, "All right. Let's play!" He took a small metal whistle from his pocket and held it for a moment, then pointed at Leon, who was shoving his cape into Rutee's arms. "You'll go first; only one player at a time. . . GO!"

He blew the whistle, and chaos was let loose.

The girls, excited and giggly, ran straight for Leon, while the boys dawdled and walked around, almost aimlessly. Leon gasped and backpedaled, running past Rutee before turning and doing a U-turn to avoid running into the cones that blocked off the city exits. The two girls split up, one chasing right after him and the other taking a detour around the well. Leon, not noticing this, ran to the well and was promptly knocked off his feet by the other girl.

"Yippee, you got caught!" shouted the black-haired boy. He raced over and grinned as Leon got to his feet, dusty from kicking up dust and falling to the ground. "Heh heh, you didn't get caught for eight seconds, so I'll give you eight gald." The ever-ready sneer reappeared as the boy began removing the pouch from his belt.

"Keep your money," Leon snapped, pulling at his hair to get the dust out of it.

"Your loss," the elder's son said and shrugged. H replaced the pouch, and turned to Rutee. "You wanna play?" he queried, smirking.

Rutee gave an evil grin to Leon, tossing him his cape, and then nodded at the little boy. "Sure thing, kiddo," she said.

"All right, then. . . GO!!" The whistle again sounded.

"(#%#@, those kids are fast!!" exclaimed Rutee as she tried to wipe the dust from her face. "Especially those girls!"

The black-haired kid smirked at the two teenagers and declared, "If that was your best shot, don't even bother trying again!"

Leon frowned and threw something close to a glare at the younger boy. "Oh, we're not even started yet, kid. . ."

Cocky as ever, the little boy shrugged and blew his whistle yet again. Leon took off this time, twisting around to avoid running into the two girls. The boys watched him dash away from the well and picked up their pace a little, but were still nothing in comparison with the girls. He dashed down towards the inn, spinning into a U-turn and leaving one of the two speedy females behind. He flew into another dead end and U-turned, losing the other girl before making a break for the well again.

"Show those twerps, Leon!" he heard Rutee scream as he sprinted past her, again U-turning to avoid his chasers, which happened to be the two boys. He heard them yelp as he purposely kicked dust in their faces, launching forward and crouching in the dust cloud. The two boys ran right past him, giving him the chance to turn around and run in the other direction.

I haven't felt this good in a long time. . ., Leon thought as he ran. Wait . . . has there ever been a time where I was this happy? He thought of this as he dodged past one of the two girls, circling a tree to confuse her. Ah. . . Yes, there was a time. . . Before . . . before I became this. Before I was Leon Magnus.

And, for all his glares and frowns in the past, Leon looked to the sky thoughtfully and smiled.

. . . . . . . . Right before smacking into the girl who he had forgotten all about.

It was getting late; the sun was beginning to set on the continent of Calvalese. Philia patiently ate one of the bananas they had purchased in Cherik as she watched Stahn cook skewered breams on four separate sticks. She didn't want to allow her thoughts to drift to the whereabouts of Rutee and Leon; the two could take care of themselves, even if they were more likely to kill each other before working together. But she thought of them anyway. Where were they? Surely they were all right . . . but why take so long, then? They had last seen Rutee over two hours ago.

The young priestess caught sight of Mary, sitting on a large rock in the clearing they had chosen for their forest campsite. She was tearing at half a head of lettuce, chewing on the green leaves quietly as she looked into the depths of the forest. There was no doubt in Philia's mind that the older woman was thinking about their two missing companions; it was evident on her face as well as her eyes.

Mary must have noticed Philia's eyes on her, since she shifted her gaze from the forest to the green-haired girl. "Aren't you hungry just eating that banana?" she queried, grinning slightly.

Philia blinked, looking down at the banana peel in her hand. She smiled shyly. "I guess I am," she admitted, "but I'd rather wait for Rutee and Leon."

Stahn overheard this and groaned. "You want to wait longer?" he moaned. "They must have forgotten all about us and torn each other's throats out or something. . . They've been gone so long. . ."

Mary was about to reply to that remark when she heard something in the distance. She allowed her breath to catch in her throat as she listened for the sound, hearing it again. Philia and Stahn hushed as well, the crackling of the fire and the natural sounds of wildlife the only other sounds around them. The sound rang out again, and the three exchanged glances. Laughter?

As the sound grew closer, the laughter grew more distinct. It was clear that one of the voices belonged to Rutee; they could tell it was her laughing through past experience. But . . . the other voice was unfamiliar. Who could it be? . . . Leon? No, it couldn't be; the young swordsman never laughed.

Their thoughts were disrupted as the owners of the voices broke into the clearing, and it was clear that it was Rutee and Leon. The two were holding each other up and giggling the whole time, covered in sand and dust. Stahn, Mary, and Philia looked at them in shock, eyes widening simultaneously as they took in the appearances of the two. Rutee and Leon slowly acknowledged the three and registered the looks on their faces, glancing at each other before bursting into harder laughter.

Philia decided to speak up. "What happened to the two of you?" she questioned. The two of them were acting completely out-of-character -- Leon especially. Were they drunk?

Leon smiled wildly and gestured to Rutee, who pulled Leon's ruined cape from behind her back and untangled it. She removed a red statue from its folds, holding it up for the other three to admire. "An Efreet!" she declared proudly.

"Those little jerks thought they could beat us up!" Leon laughed, still grinning like a maniac. He never looked so frightening in their lives. "But we showed 'em!"

The other three stared at them incredulously. "What are you talking about?!" Stahn queried, blue eyes wider than ever.

"We'll explain, we'll explain, Stahn," Rutee breathed, still trying to catch her breath completely. She steadied herself against Leon before going on. "You see, we met this kid on the way back, and he asked if we wanted to play tag." She laughed at the memory. "Of course, we refused . . . and then he said we didn't have any guts."

"So we took up his offer," Leon continued. "We played tag with his friends for a long time. . ."

"That's why we're so dirty and so late," explained Rutee. "B-- but. . . You should have seen the looks on the kids' faces when. . .!!" She laughed unbelievably hard and shook her head.

"What? What??" Mary prodded, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"After the first million times of being chased and getting caught," began Leon, running a hand through his dirty black hair and laughing, "I finally got fed up and climbed on the roof of one of the buildings."

Rutee managed to sputter between laughs, "The little brats were so mad! They were screaming at him to get down!" She mimicked a little child's voice. "'Get down! Get down! You're not playin' fair! I'm gonna tell on you!'" To the shock of Philia, Mary, and Stahn, the black-dressed girl began laughing even harder than before . . . if that was humanly possible.

Leon giggled -- for Atamoni's sake, he giggled! -- and stated, "I came down eventually, and told that snotty little elder's son that I'd stayed away for over a hundred seconds. Simply put, he wasn't very happy." He pulled the statue from Rutee's grasp and shook the Efreet like some sort of bizarre trophy. "But we got the freakin' item! We got it, and he's the one looking like a fool now!"

The three "still-sane" members looked blankly at each other for a long moment. Then, ". . . I guess they're friends now." That was from Mary.

"At least they're not calling me country boy anymore," Stahn remarked.

"Hey, Witch!! Get your lazy butt in gear!"

"Oh, shaddap, you annoying little idiot! I'll get up when I'm good and ready!!"

Mary shared a funny little smile with Philia as they prepared breakfast. Stahn munched on a chunk of bread and listened to the exchange. He stated quite loudly, "Some things will never change."

"Shut up, country boy!!" came the two black-haired teenagers' voices.

Stahn groaned and winced at the nickname. "I guess I spoke too soon."