He was checking and cleaning his equipment when his best friend walked in, excited look on his face. The sixteen-year-old future knight glanced at him, but continued his task. Kain walked to him and sat beside him on the bed. "Hey. What are you doing?"

Cecil lifted his head a little, still polishing the piece of armor he was holding. "Can't you see? I'm taking care of my armor and stuff. Why?"

Kain smiled. "Did you hear Commander Blackwood is going to have a survival practice again?"

"Survival practice?"

"You know what that is, right?"

Cecil put down the piece of armor. "Well, yeah, but I think King Baron has not given his approval for that kind of training. Nor has Captain West, and he's the Chief Knight. We..."

"We all do what he says? Follow his orders?" Kain grinned.

"What's the matter with you, Kain?" Cecil asked. "Of course; that's our duty. And if you are ever thinking of becoming a knight..."

"Dragoon," Kain interrupted.

"Well, still, you have to..."

"You know, the captain knows about this," Kain pointed out. "He knows quite well what Commander Blackwood is doing, and till this day has never interfered. That should tell you something about what he thinks of it, shouldn't it?"

Cecil sighed. "Right."

"None of the knights have ever complained, and nor have any of the knights-in-training."

"Well," Cecil admitted. "Maybe the captain thinks it's not that bad..."

Kain smiled. "So?"

"You're saying the commander is going to...?"

"Yep," Kain replied. "I signed us up already."

"But Kain!" Cecil exclaimed. "I don't think I want to..."

"Shut up." Kain slapped his friend gently. "I want to go. Hey, I wanted to go the last time but they have some limitations and all. This time there's no reason why they wouldn't take us."

"You know what they say about survival practice," Cecil commented. "First of all, it's dangerous and you never know what might happen"

"I know; I know exactly. That's why I'm going, and you're coming, too. Hey, as the commander put it... You're the most promising knight here, trained by the king himself. You're going to become the Knight Captain someday, or something like that."

Cecil looked him in the eyes. "Kain. Well, I was..."

"Enough of that. That's why we're both going. When you're a Knight Captain, you are going to thank me for making you do this."

"All right, you made your point. But still... I don't know about this, Kain. Is it worth it?"

"It is. Trust me."

Cecil shrugged. "Okay. When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Commander Blackwood walked back and forth in front of the future knights. All six young men who had signed up for this looked more or less nervous and anxious. Well, not all six actually; Kain glanced at Cecil, who looked very calm. He was wearing his armor as usual but no helmet, and the light wind caught his white hair, making it dance around his face.

"Glad to see all of you here," the commander stated. "Now. I presume that you all know what you are doing?"

"Yes, Sir," all six answered.

"Good. Are you aware that this is not completely official? Now, if anything should happen, I'll have to take the full responsibility. Thus, I trust you that nothing will happen, but, do you all trust me?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"What are we waiting for, then?" the commander said with a smile. "Follow me."

The knights-in-training followed the commander, who led them outside Baron where a Chocobo wagon and a couple of knights were waiting. "Hop on. I'll tell you some details about the training while we're on the road."

The young men climbed on the wagon, and when they were all sitting more or less comfortably, the wagon started moving.

The commander studied each of them carefully, then folded his arms and began the explanation. "All right then. I call this 'survival practice' because that's what this is. Now, there are six of you. You all have a pair, right? My list here says: Raim and Glenn, Frank and Ardyan, Kain and Cecil. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. The goal of this drill is to teach you how to survive with no equipment while being chased. This is good practice for certain situations... A good example is that you are taken prisoner in a war, and you manage to escape. In a case like that, you have to run from the enemy with no idea where you are, trying to avoid anyone who might be pursuing you. All you have is the clothes you were wearing and maybe some dagger you managed to steal from one of the guards."

Cecil turned to look at Kain, who smiled at him.

"We are on our way to a location that will not be revealed to you," the commander continued. "It'll take about three days to get there. Starting tomorrow, you will be travelling with your heads covered, so you can't see or hear anything. This is of course because I don't want you to know where you are. Understood?"

All six nodded.

"Good," Commander Blackwood said. "Now then. When we reach our destination, your equipment will be removed. You and your partner will be taken to a random location that will be your starting point. After that, you have one week to return to the South Guard Station outside Baron, where I will be waiting. Sounds easy, eh?"

The young men looked a bit nervous.

"Well, it's not. All guard stations between your starting point and South Station have been informed. They have been ordered to take you into custody if they see you. So, there are soldiers looking for you. If that doesn't make it hard enough, ten of my knights will be chasing you, all the time. They know where you start, so it's your job to mislead them. You'd better try and lose them, because they are determined to catch you. You don't want to try fighting an armed knight with your bare hands, now do you?"

"No, Sir," one of the boys said, with the others nodding in agreement.

"I thought so. Well. This isn't one of the easiest training missions. From all of those who have completed this, not many have passed. So if you pass..." The commander smiled. "You will get very high marks from me. If you fail, I will still make a special note on your papers for this, just because you had the courage the participate."

Kain glanced at his friend; Cecil looked like he was deep in his thoughts.

"That's it. Any questions?" The commander waited for a moment, but no one seemed to have anything they would have wanted to ask. "No? Well, if you come up with a question later, just ask. You have a few days until it begins. But know this - now that you're here, the one who wants to go back will never become a knight as long as I have anything to say about it."

The young men looked at each other, but said nothing.

It had been a detailed enough explanation, and Cecil couldn't sleep that night. Maybe it was because he had too much to think, or maybe he was just nervous. He finally crawled a little closer to his friend and prodded his arm gently. "Kain? You awake?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think of all this?" Cecil asked.

Kain turned to look at the night sky. "I knew the basics when I signed up, so... Not much I can say, really. It's a simple concept; the rest if up to our abilities."

"What if it gets dangerous?"

"Are you worried?" Kain asked and looked at Cecil. "Considering that you're the best there is..."

Cecil sighed. "Well, can't turn back now can we? Good night."

Kain lifted up a little and gave Cecil a quick kiss on his cheek. "Sweet dreams."

The morning was chilly, and the sun had not risen yet when Commander Blackwood came to wake the young men up. Cecil yawned and opened his eyes slowly; Kain, who was already awake, smiled at him.

"Get up, we're leaving already," Kain told him.

Cecil stood up slowly. "Ugh. I'm freezing."

"Save that talk for later," Kain said "You do realize that sometime the day after tomorrow we're gonna be left somewhere with no equipment?"

Cecil smiled dryly. "Oh yes. Can't wait."

They climbed on the wagon along with the other four boys, and a knight covered their heads with a piece of cloth. Kain gritted his teeth; he couldn't see a thing. He knew that was of course the point, but the sudden loss of vision made him nervous. He could feel Cecil sitting right next to him, but that was is. He moved his hand a little and found Cecil's knee, and sighed in relief.

"Uh. Can you hear me, Cecil?"

"Mmthwhat mdid mtpmyou msay? Mhey mdon't mmtouchmp me mmlikemtp mpthatm."

"Hah, well," Kain said with a grin. "Apparently not."

"Kain, you're not supposed to be able to talk that much," Commander Blackwood noted. He had gotten on the wagon as well and was looking at the six.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Sir," Kain said. "Maybe you should cover my mouth as well?"

"Certainly."

The day went past slowly but surely, and they didn't stop to rest that night. Cecil leaned on Kain's shoulder, trying to sleep. They had only stopped three times during the day, and he didn't really know where they were. It was probably somewhere south from Baron, but that was it. Their eyes had been covered even when they were eating.

Cecil couldn't see, but he knew Kain wasn't sleeping. He also knew they should both sleep, and did his best to do so. Kain was nervous, he could tell. For some reason, Cecil himself wasn't. This practice would be hard, but even if they were young, they were both trained soldiers.

They would make it, and they would make it back to Baron. He was certain of it.

The next day went just like the previous one, and Cecil had to admit he was starting to lose his cool. The wagon traveled slowly but surely, but other than the guards occasionally chatting about something unrelated and someone occasionally passing by them on the road, there wasn't much going on.

He was quite sure that one of the stops they made was on a guard station. They probably changed the chocobos, he thought, wishing he could see something. He then closed his eyes, planning on getting some rest before they would reach their destination - wherever that was.

He awoke when the wagon stopped. Judging by the sounds around them, night had already fallen.

Commander Blackwood ordered them to follow, and all six did so. Cecil held onto Kain's hand so they wouldn't be separated; besides, neither of them wanted to fall down.

"Alright, stop," the commander ordered. "Stay where you are."

Cecil stopped, and Kain let go of his hand. A few minutes passed, then someone removed the cloth from his face and he took a deep breath.

"Whew. You don't know how glad I am to see you," he said when he saw Kain standing in front of him.

"Oh, but I do," the other boy replied "I haven't seen a thing in last few days, either."

The commander was talking to the two knights that had been accompanying them so far. He gave them a few more orders, then addressed the young men. "All set?"

"Yes, Sir," they all answered.

"I am returning to Baron now. These knights here will take care of the rest. It begins later today. Good luck, gentlemen. I'm counting on seeing you all in seven days." The commander took a good look at all of them, and then mounted his chocobo and rode away.

Kain watched him disappear from sight. "...Cecil?"

"Yeah?"

"Ready?"

"Ask me again tonight."

"I think I will."

The wagon moved slowly, and Cecil sighed. Their heads were covered again, and he was beginning to feel a bit anxious. When would it start? What would happen, and where would the knights leave them? He had so many questions, and knew none of those would be answered.

The wagon stopped eventually, and he thought he heard something. They're leaving one pair here, he concluded, listening to the short conversation the knights were having. Hmm. Well, not me and Kain, anyway.

The wagon started moving again, and some time passed. Eventually, Cecil started feeling somewhat sleepy.

What... is this? He wondered. They... There must have been something... in the food. So, it starts... now. When I wake up, we'll be... somewhere...

He couldn't help it; soon after, he fell asleep.

"Cecil!" Kain's voice called, and Cecil opened his eyes slowly. It was dark wherever they were. "Come on, Cecil, wake up!" Kain continued as he lifted Cecil up to his feet rather forcefully, and he grimaced. He then looked around, nervous.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know," Kain replied. "In a forest. It's midnight, I think. I just woke up, and..."

"I..." Cecil looked at his clothes. A simple shirt and pants, no shoes. "I'm cold."

Kain shivered a little. "So am I, but can't do much about it."

"Yeah, obviously," Cecil commented in a rather sarcastic tone of voice. "Well, Mr. Survival Practice Expert, what do we do now?"

Kain smiled at him. "All right... First, equipment check! Not much clothes. Nights are cold, so we'll freeze to dead unless we keep moving. When we aren't moving, we'll have to warm each other. We have no shoes, so be careful and watch your step. No weapons?"

"I guess they didn't want us to... Ouch." Cecil hit his foot on something cold and sharp as he spoke, and lifted the object up. "I'll take that back. We have... well, this."

Kain looked at the item Cecil was holding. "A rusty dagger? Hey, it's better than nothing I guess. All right then, looks like that's all."

Cecil gave the dagger to Kain. "So, what next?"

"We find a way out of this forest, and find out where we are. After that... We head to the South Guard Station. Which comes after we are able to figure out where it is. Anyway, guess we're ready then. I'll take the lead for now."

They headed for what seemed to be a way out. Kain followed a small path that eventually led them to the edge of the forest. The sky was partly cloudy, and moonlight cast shadows on the soft grass below his feet. He smiled and turned to face his friend. "So, what do you think?"

Cecil glanced around and looked at him. "Okay, so... In theory, we escaped from the enemy and have to get back to the base. We have no equipment, and..."

"Shh." Kain pointed at the road further away. It was dark, but they could see the figures of three men on chocobo back.

"I was just coming to that," Cecil added "We're being chased. Those must be the knights who are looking for us, then. Remember, they know our starting point."

"Back into the forest," Kain whispered. "We've got to stay out of sight, but we'd better keep moving and follow the edge of the forest or something. If we stay here, they'll surely find us."

They did what Kain had suggested, and stayed under the trees while traveling along the forest in silence. A few hours passed, then Cecil stopped and looked around. "Can you see them?"

Kain shook his head. "No. I guess they didn't see us."

"Good." Cecil closed his eyes for a while. "Are you as tired as I am?"

"Yeah," Kain agreed. "Let's hide near those rocks over there and rest for a while. Of course, one of us must stay awake and watch all the time. I'll do it first."

"All right. Wake me when you get tired." Cecil led them to the rocks, and they sat next to a large boulder close to each other. Cecil then leaned his head on Kain's shoulder and closed his eyes. It would be a long night.

The sun was just about to rise when the two boys left their shelter. They had rested for a couple of hours, but now they were both hungry and thirsty. Kain stretched his arms, trying to get rid of the stiffness. "See a stream anywhere?" He asked Cecil. "We need water."

Cecil looked around. "No, but I think these leaves here are edible... You hungry?"

"Oh yes," Kain admitted even though eating leaves didn't sound too delightful. "Well, that's all we have, so..."

"You know, it tastes like... grass," Cecil commented.

"Who cares. Take some with you, we can't stay here for long." Kain looked around, and then headed forward.

They walked along the edge of the forest for a long time, hiding in the bushes every time they saw someone on the road. Finally, after several hours of walking, the line of trees ended. There was more forest on the other side of the road so they made sure that no one saw them and crossed the road.

"Cecil... There's a village," Kain pointed to the direction ahead of them "And a guard station, by the looks of it."

"Better go around them and hide in the forest, then," Cecil replied.

They made their way around the village hastily, hoping that they weren't seen. Kain found some berries they could eat, and they continued their journey, still not even knowing where they were going. However, a couple of hours later they ran into a small river.

Cecil knelt down. "Water? Nice and clean."

"Great," Kain said, relieved. "You know, we've been walking for hours..."

Cecil sat down on the river bank. "Let's rest here for a while, then."

They made sure they had some cover in case anyone would come by and rested for about and hour. Kain looked at the surroundings, thinking. "Cecil?" He finally said. "I think I know where we are. Look at that road we've been following; it must be the one that goes from Baron to the Ocean Village down south, right?"

"Might be," Cecil answered. "In that case, all we have to do is go north."

Kain smiled. "Sun is over there. It's afternoon now, judging by how the shadows are getting longer... In that case, that should be west. So then that -" Kain pointed to the direction on the right side from the sun's current position "- should be north."

"Feeling lucky?" Cecil commented with a grin. "If that really is the Ocean Village road, we're going to the right direction. Let's continue soon then, but as far away from the road as possible."

After resting some more they finally continued, following the road but staying off of it. Eventually, the sun set below the horizon. The boys felt tired, but stopped only for a half an hour. They then continued, keeping an eye on the road.

Kain randomly stopped for a while and frowned. "Cecil... Can you hear that? Someone's out there. Carefully now."

"Soldiers probably," Cecil said and nodded "I don't know if they're looking for us, but I guess we'd better hide deeper in the forest. Follow me." He gave his hand to Kain and then led him into the forest. It was dark and with all the trees around them, he could barely see the sky if he looked up. There were shadows everywhere, but he was not scared; the thought that there might be someone following them bothered him, though.

It was getting colder as the hours went by, and Kain shivered a little and glanced at his friend. "Cecil? Let's rest."

"Is it safe now?" Cecil inquired, looking around.

"Should be." Kain spotted a good place nearby and sat down next to few bushes. "All right... Come here, I'll take the first watch."

"Sure." Cecil sat down next to him and gritted his teeth. "Damn, it's freezing out here."

"I know." Kain wrapped his arms around him. "Just stay close to me, that's all we can do here."

Cecil laughed a bit. "Well, pretty much. Okay, just wake me up later."

Early in the morning, they got up and followed the path that led out the forest. Uncomfortable as it was, they tried to ignore the fact that they were both freezing. It was still dark under the trees, but when they got to the edge of the forest they saw that sun was shining.

"Nice weather," Kain observed.

Cecil smiled. "I'm hungry, thirsty, tired and cold, and you want to start talking about the weather?"

"Better get moving if you're cold," Kain told him then looked around. "So, what would you like to eat this fine morning? Maybe some more leaves would be good?"

Cecil shook his head. "Not really, but what else do we have? Let's just keep walking. Who knows, we might find something else."

They did so, and walked for hours. They only rested as little as possible, in fear of running into someone and to keep themselves warm. Finally around noon Kain stopped and looked at Cecil. "Wait... Look," he said and motioned to the direction they had been walking. "See? There's a village."

"Ah, you mean, another village to go around," Cecil replied.

Kain smiled a little. "Well, if you want to put it that way. Eh, let's just go."

They made their way around the village carefully. Some farmers were working on a field nearby, and they could see there were other people around. They had to slow down a little to be able to stay out of sight, but they couldn't afford being seen. Finally, they left the village behind and continued following the road. A little later they found a small fountain and stopped for a moment.

"Almost managed to make myself forget how thirsty I was," Kain stated after drinking some of the clear water.

"Ha. Hungry, thirsty... Whatever," Cecil said. "After last two days, I've more or less learned to ignore that. I'm just wondering why on earth I agreed to come with you, all things considered."

Kain shrugged. "Come on Cecil, this isn't that bad. Hey, you remember last year when we were-" He was about to say something else, but got interrupted.

"Hey! You!"

They turned around to see a Baron soldier coming to their direction. "Damn! Run!" Kain yelled and took off to the opposite direction, and they ran as fast as they could. The soldier pursued them but they were faster in the end, and he gave up when the boys were too far away.

Kain and Cecil stopped when they reached the woods nearby and looked behind them but couldn't see anyone there. "Is he still following?" Kain asked, just to confirm if Cecil could see something he couldn't.

"No," Cecil replied. "But he saw us. There might be others and they might..."

"I know," Kain said. "Let's hide there in the bushes. We can't go anywhere for now."

They hid and waited patiently, moving as little as possible. An hour and a half passed without anything happening, but they eventually decided it was too dangerous to stay where they were. Kain crawled through some bushes, followed by Cecil. Once they would get out of the bushes, they would have to find some cover, and Kain kept his eyes open. Suddenly, he stopped. "See that?" He whispered to Cecil.

Cecil crawled closer to see what Kain was talking about. The bushes still continued on the side, but there was a small building about four hundred feet away. "What is that?" Cecil asked.

"That must be the local guard station," Kain said. "It's quite near the village we saw earlier, is it not?"

"Kain, look out," Cecil whispered, alarmed. "See that? Looks like a couple of Baron knights. They're probably asking if the soldiers have seen us."

"And they have," Kain mumbled. "I think it was one of them who was chasing us earlier." He then scanned the area for a few seconds then grinned. "Heh... Wait here. If I get caught, run."

Cecil stared at him. "What are you doing, Kain? You can't go there, they'll catch you!"

"Just watch me."

"But... Oh, all right." Cecil shook his head and watched as Kain crawled out of the bush and sneaked behind the small building. He then moved to the left side and knelt down. There were five men were having a conversation in front of the building, though he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Cecil was right, Kain thought. It's the knight trio and their chocobos. He then smiled. And where are the chocobos? Ah, over there...

He half-crawled quietly to the large birds that were tied to the fence near the building, and patted one on the head. "Shh. Good boy... unless you're a girl, I don't have time to check..."

The chocobo was eating and paid no attention to what Kain was doing. He grinned to himself; there was a flask of water and a blanket tied to the saddle. He untied the cord that was holding the items and took them before quickly sneaking back behind the building, making sure that no one saw him.

He waited for a while to check if the soldiers were doing anything then returned to the bushes. He gave the items to Cecil before getting flat on his stomach and crawling in the bushes next to him.

"Kain? You're crazy," Cecil told him. Kain just grinned, and Cecil shook his head. "Now they definitely know that we're here."

"They knew that already since one of the soldiers saw us," Kain pointed out. "Now start moving, we have to get away from here before they realize I took those."

They did so and crawled along the bushes until they reached a clearing with small forest on the other side. There, they got up and ran quickly along the line of trees until they were deeper in the woods before they finally stopped to catch their breaths.

"Kain?" Cecil said and looked at the blanket.

"What?"

"That was stealing."

"Who cares?" Kain replied nonchalantly. "It was from one of our own knights, and they'll easily figure out who took those. Don't worry, he'll get them back. We need them more than he does, anyway."

"Well, you got that right," Cecil said and smiled.

Kain nodded. "Well, let's go. Just remember that we have to be extra careful now that they have a lead and are somewhere around, looking for us."

Later that night they were following the road again, staying out of sight. It was dark already, but Kain was feeling a bit nervous. "Cecil," he said after thinking for a while. "I think we'd better hide for the night. I just got this feeling the knights are somewhere near."

"Me too," Cecil agreed.

Half-running, they made their way through the forest, looking for a place to hide. There was a smaller road which connected to the Ocean Village road, and they had to cross it. Kain looked around, more and more nervous. It was just a feeling, but...

He soon found that he had every reason to be nervous as he caught something heading where they had crossed the road. It was clearly the knights; they were much closer than he had expected. "Damn, there they are! Quickly, here!" He grabbed Cecil's hand and dragged him into the bushes on the other side.

"Ouch," Cecil complained.

"Sorry," Kain apologized. "Oh, aren't we in trouble now. If they find us..."

Cecil shook his head. "Well, we fail, it's as simple as that. Could be worse."

"Just keep moving," Kain ordered and dragged the other boy along, not really knowing where they were going, but that didn't matter to him at this point.

They didn't dare to stop until hours later, and when they did, they had pretty much used up all their remaining strength. Once they found a good spot, Kain lay down, and Cecil lay down next to him.

"It's so cold in here," Cecil whispered.

Kain had to agree, but he was too tired to complain. "Well, just come closer," he said. "At least we can do something about that now." Cecil moved closer, and Kain wrapped the blanket around them both. "Better?"

"Much," Cecil replied. "Thank you. Want to sleep first?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Kain said and closed his eyes.

The boys continued their journey early in the morning after resting better part of the night almost comfortably. Kain smiled; several hours of sleep, and they had means of carrying water with them now. He could deal with being hungry as long as there was no need to be thirsty.

Around noon, they reached another small village. As they made their way to the side where it was easiest to go around it without being noticed, they noticed there were soldiers in the village, at least a dozen of them. Kain shook his head, frowning.

"Damn, look at that," Cecil commented. "Probably totally unrelated to us being here, but..."

Kain nodded. "I know. Let's hide, then. I don't think it's a good idea to continue past here while those soldiers are around. I guess it's into the bushes again... We'll have time for a good conversation about swords or whatever."

"Quiet conversation," Cecil noted. "But yeah."

They hid in the woods and ended up spending several hours in hiding until the soldiers finally left the village. Kain and Cecil took the long way around just in case and continued towards home.

Hours passed as usual as they walked along the edge of the forest. It was almost midnight; it was dark all around. They kept going, only stopping to rest for a few minutes once in a while. The night was really cold, and they didn't want to stay still for too long.

It was nearing midnight when Kain glanced behind. He thought he had heard something - as if someone was following them - but no matter how hard he looked there was nothing. He tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination, but he had this feeling that made his uneasy.

"Kain?" Cecil asked quietly after a few minutes. "Is something wrong? You look nervous."

"It's nothing," Kain replied. "I just thought..."

Suddenly, four imps jumped out from the bushes behind them and attacked them.

"Damn!" Kain cursed and spun around. The imps rushed towards them, and he grabbed the dagger and held it ready. Cecil dropped the flask and the blanket and took a few steps back, focused on one of the imps that was about to attack him. The imp jumped in front of him, and Cecil avoided its attacks skillfully, then countered by grabbing it and killed it by breaking its neck. Kain meanwhile killed one of the imps with the dagger and turned to see where the others were.

One had made its way behind them, and Kain dashed to the side. "Cecil, watch out!"

Cecil turned around to see the one Kain was warning him about right behind him. The imp jumped at him, and they both fell down and rolled down on some rocks. Cecil fought for some time until he managed to kill the creature. Kain killed the remaining imp and ran to him; Cecil was lying on the ground next to the dead imp.

"Cecil! Are you all right...?"

"What?" Cecil mumbled as a reply, eyes closed.

"Are you alright?" Kain asked again as he knelt down. "You don't look too good. You've got bruises all over you and..."

Cecil looked at him. "You're one to talk, Kain, because so do you. I'm okay, I think... I hit my head on one of those rocks, but... No big deal."

Kain sighed in relief. "Good. Damn, that was close. I should've known better."

"Likewise," Cecil muttered and tried to get up. "Ouch... My leg hurts."

"Stay still and let me see." Kain moved to study Cecil's feet. "I think you might have twisted your ankle. Can you walk if I help you up?"

Cecil didn't reply, and Kain stared at him for a second. "Cecil? Damn it! Open your eyes!"

Cecil blinked and looked at him. "What?" He asked, looking somewhat dazed. "Why are you looking at me... like that?"

"It's nothing," Kain replied with a forced smile. "Don't talk, just save your strength. You probably hit your head badly, and with that leg..." He retrieved the blanket and wrapped it around his friend and then lifted him up. "I'll take you somewhere safe. We'll rest for a while, and then... We'll see."

Some time later, Kain walked slowly through the forest, carrying his friend on his back. He didn't know where they were anymore, but he didn't care. He would keep walking as long as he had any strength left. He felt tired, but he was resolved to go on. It would be just a little further until there would be some place safe enough for them.

It was so dark he could barely see where the path was - if there was a path to begin with. He almost dropped Cecil as he sidestepped around a few rocks. He figured it was well past midnight, and it was quite cold. He looked around; there had to be some place they could rest.

He smiled as he saw some big rocks and a few bushes nearby. He walked over, looked around for the most comfortable place to rest and put Cecil down gently.

"Mmh?" Cecil mumbled. "What are you doing?"

"Hush," Kain told him. "Just close your eyes. I found us a place for the night." He then lay down next to Cecil and wrapped the blanket around both of them.

"Kain?" Cecil inquired sleepily. "Why were you carrying me...? Hey, I'm not dead yet." He tried to smile, but was too tired to do it properly. It didn't matter; it was too dark for Kain to see him anyway.

Kain patted his arm. "I know that. Sleep now; you'll need it."

An hour or so passed, but neither of them managed to sleep properly. Cecil finally opened his eyes, rather frustrated at his inability to rest, and looked at Kain who seemed to be half-asleep. "Kain?"

"What is it?" Kain asked quietly.

Cecil sighed and then moved a little. "Kain," he said, determination in his voice. "Go. Run. Run and hide, until you reach the south station. I'll... There was a village and a guard station near this forest, right? I'll let the guards catch me. They'll take me back to Baron."

Kain stared at him through the darkness. "What? Don't even think about it."

"Please, Kain," Cecil said. "I'm not able to walk. You'd have to carry me if..."

Kain wrapped his arms around Cecil and held him tight. "Never!"

"Kain!"

"Cecil, stop it!" Kain ordered. "Remember what we're here for. If this was for real and I hurt myself while we were escaping or something, would you just run and leave me to the enemy?"

"Of course not!" Cecil replied. "What kind of a question is that? You're my best friend and I care for you. I'd never leave you anywhere!"

Kain shook his head. "See? That's why I'm not leaving you."

"But this is just training..." Cecil started.

Kain smiled sadly. "Who cares? You said you're not able to walk, hmm? How do you think you could make it to the guard station, then? You don't even know where we are; we're lost in this damn forest. So, like it or not, I'm not leaving you behind."

"Kain..."

"Say no more," Kain said. "We'll rest some more and then continue, together. It's only... I don't know, maybe two days to Baron from here."

"You could make it in one and a half," Cecil argued.

"Don't even try," Kain replied. "I'm taking you with me. Training or not, I'm not going to leave you, and that's the end of this discussion. Try to get some rest now."

Cecil gave in and moved around until he found a comfortable enough position, and soon after he fell asleep. Kain couldn't sleep, however; he just lay there and held Cecil close to him. Cecil was breathing peacefully, with some of his hair on his face, and Kain smiled and moved it away gently.

Damn, he thought. Why would he want me to leave him behind? I know he would never leave me if it was the other way around. No, I'm not going on without him; he's my best friend and if we're going to get through this, we'll do it together..

He looked at Cecil and then closed his eyes. I'd rather kill myself than let anything happen to you, Cecil.

A couple of hours later, Cecil was awakened by the combination of being cold and his leg hurting. "Kain," he whispered, wondering if the other boy was awake. Kain looked at him, and he looked down. "I... I can't sleep."

"Does your leg hurt?"

"Just a little," Cecil replied. "Wish I didn't have to care about it. But it's not that, I'm just... freezing."

"Cecil..." Kain started, then trailed off for a moment. "We should both sleep. We have to continue when the morning comes."

"I'll try to sleep some more," Cecil agreed. "It's hard, but..."

They both curled up and stayed quiet for a good while. Kain gave up sleeping eventually and looked at his friend; he knew Cecil wasn't sleeping, either. He was cold, and he knew that so was Cecil; he had said as much after all. "Cecil?"

"What?"

"I... I think I know a way to make you forget about your leg," he said. "And a way to make you feel warm. But promise me two things, okay? First, whatever I do, don't try to stop me. Second, you are not going to kill me afterwards."

"Kain?" Cecil sounded a bit puzzled.

"Promise?"

"Well... I promise," Cecil concurred.

"Good." The young Dragoon smiled. "Remember, you'd better not kill me." He leaned closer and kissed Cecil.

Cecil swallowed. "Okay, um, yeah, that's working, I actually forgot my that leg hurts now. Kain, what are you doing?"

"You promised you wouldn't try to stop me." Kain drew him closer.

"Uh, right," Cecil mumbled. "Whatever you're doing, then... I... I'll just lie here. You can- mmmmh!"

Kain kissed him again, then he started taking off Cecil's clothes. His own soon followed, and he spread the garments on top of the blanked then drew Cecil close to him, wrapping the blanket around them. "Feeling warmer now?"

"A little," Cecil replied. "This feels actually very nice and somehow warms you up. My leg still hurts, though."

"Well, at least one thing has been taken care of. I'll take care of the other now." Kain started kissing him again, this time caressing Cecil's back.

"Mm, okay... better... Aah!?" Cecil gave his friend a surprised look as he felt Kain's hand slide between his legs and start stroking gently. He blushed as he realized how hard he suddenly was. "Um, Kain...?"

"Hush," Kain muttered. "Lie still and let me do this."

"B-but..." Cecil couldn't continue farther as Kain's lips covered his mouth again. He tried to mumble some kind of a protest but then just gave up and closed his eyes. Kain was right; he had totally forgotten that his leg was hurting by now.

Kain moved a little away, pushing Cecil to lie down on his back. "Just relax now... And please, could you spread your legs a little?"

Cecil blushed but did as ordered. Kain started kissing his neck and shoulders. He moved lower slowly, kissing his friend's skin as he advanced, and Cecil couldn't keep himself from shivering. "K-Kain...?"

"Just shut up now and relax," Kain whispered, his face against Cecil's chest. "You gave your word, so is that really too much to ask?"

"N-no... I... ah!" Cecil's eyes widened as Kain gently took a nipple in his mouth and playfully nibbled it with his teeth. Cecil moaned quietly, pushing his hips against Kain's hand which was still stroking his sex.

"That's better," Kain mumbled. "Now, relax..." He shifted his position, moving between Cecil's outspread legs. He moved his hand lower, carefully starting to stroke the base of the organ as he took the tip into his mouth and started sucking gently.

Cecil gasped and moaned quietly. He then clenched Kain's blond hair, rocking his hips against the pleasing mouth. "Kain... Ahh!" He arched his back, having totally forgotten any pain now.

Kain smiled to himself and started sucking harder. He took more of the hard organ into his mouth, and Cecil tugged on his hair softly, moaning and gasping. Kain could feel how close to release his friend was.

Cecil shook his head helplessly, moaning his friend's name. He clenched Kain's hair harder, pulling the young knight closer. His body trembled in ecstasy and he cried out in extreme pleasure as the climax consumed him completely.

"Cecil?" Kain asked after a moment. "Better now?"

The only answer he got was tired murmuring, then Cecil drifted off into deep sleep. Kain smiled then carefully wrapped the blanket around them, holding his sleeping friend in his arms as he closed his eyes.

The sun was shining when Kain woke up. He was still naked and holding Cecil, and he could only smile to himself as he took a moment to clear his head. "Cecil, wake up," he said and shook his friend a little.

"Mmmh? Kain?" Cecil mumbled and then reluctantly opened his eyes. He then looked at the other boy for a moment and blushed when he realized what had happened during the night.

"Hey," Kain greeted him. "Feeling any better?"

"Uh... I..." Cecil gave him an innocent grin and looked away.

Kain laughed and got up, then helped Cecil get dressed. He looked around; there was nothing alarming in sight, so it was time to continue the journey. At least he had something nice to think about, and surely Cecil did too.

They followed the road again, with Kain carrying Cecil, who was a bit quiet for some reason. He didn't want to eat the berries Kain found, and he wouldn't drink either. Next time they stopped, Kain offered him some water again as he was getting worried. "Cecil. Are you thinking of dying here or what? Drink it or else...!"

"Or else what?" Cecil asked.

"You don't want to know," Kain replied. "Come on. Aren't you thirsty?"

"I..." Cecil said. "Yeah, I am, but... My throat hurts and I don't feel like drinking."

Kain looked at him. "Cecil... Maybe we should give up?"

Cecil looked shocked. "No, definitely not! We haven't come all this way just to give up a few days before we're done with this."

"Then drink. Please?"

"All right," Cecil said and took the flask from Kain. "You know, you don't need to carry me."

"Shut up. We'd best be going now, and I'll carry you all the way home if I have to." Kain helped Cecil up, then persuaded him to be carried, if only for a few hours.

Late in the afternoon they reached some fields. There was a forest nearby, so they decided to go around the fields as usual. Cecil insisted on walking, though he was supported by Kain who was too tired to argue with him, so he just helped his friend. Slowly but surely, they continued towards Baron.

Few hours later they were sitting near some bushes. Kain was deep in his thoughts when he was interrupted by some noise. He glanced at Cecil, who was looking at the road. "What...? Oh, just great!"

It was the knights again, and there were four of them now. They were closing up fast, and would reach the two in less than a few minutes. "Looks like they know that we're here somewhere," Kain muttered. "Let's go."

He lifted Cecil up then followed the path for a while, looking back from time to time. "Damn," he cursed. "I don't think they're staying on the road. Up on the tree."

"I don't think I can climb," Cecil said.

"Shouldn't be too hard. I'll help," Kain replied. He looked at the trees until he found one they could climb easily and that would offer some cover. They climbed up as fast as they could, and Kain helped Cecil on a sturdy branch and took another one himself. Then, they waited.

Half an hour passed. Kain was observing the road and the paths that crossed the forest, but there had been nothing so far. Finally, he saw what he had been looking for; one of the knights was in the forest. Kain leaned towards Cecil and whispered, "Stay quiet," while pointing at the direction where the knight was.

The knight was definitely looking for them, as he looked around, searching for any trace of the two boys hiding somewhere. He rode directly under them for a couple of times, and Kain pretty much held his breath. When the knight finally left, he sighed in relief. "Damn, sometimes I think that we're just too lucky," he told Cecil.

"Maybe we just are," Cecil said with a smile.

"Let's stay here and rest," Kain suggested. "It'll be safer to continue when it gets dark."

They waited until nightfall before getting on the road again. Then they walked all night, protected by the shadows of the forest. The morning came eventually, and though there were no signs of the knights, Kain was still being cautious. He didn't exactly want to be caught now when they were so close to the end, even though it was quite possible that there would be more soldiers ahead.

The day was cloudy, and he feared it would start raining. They followed the road, just like they had been doing for days now. Kain supported Cecil, who was feeling a bit better, and they talked about random things related to their knight training. Cecil was surely better now, but Kain knew he was getting tired. Cecil's leg was hurting, even if he said nothing, and Kain knew he needed to see a healer.

The journey seemed to be awfully long today, Kain thought to himself. They stopped to rest from time to time, and while they had no food, it didn't really matter as they were both too tired to think about it.

It was getting dark when they stopped to rest again, on top of a hill. Cecil looked at the distance where he could see city lights far away. He smiled; it had to be Baron. Between the city and the hill, there was a village, a river, a forest and...

"Kain... Is that the South Guard Station?" Cecil asked and nodded at a group of buildings near the forest.

"Yeah, I think it is," Kain replied. "We're almost there."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Cecil said. "Let's go. I should be able to walk, so shouldn't take us too long."

Kain looked at him. "You sure you want to walk?"

"Uh, well," Cecil admitted. "As long as you help me a little?"

They nodded to each other and headed down the hill towards the buildings.

It was getting late in the evening, and Commander Blackwood had just finished doing some paperwork and was ready to go to bed when someone knocked on the door. "Yes?" He inquired and turned to face the door. He wasn't expecting anyone this late.

Kain and Cecil stumbled in, accompanied by a guard. "Reporting in from the survival practice... Sir," Kain mumbled.

"Look at that," the commander said with a smile. "Good work. You're the first ones to arrive, if you count out Frank and Ardyan who arrived yesterday. They got caught on the second day."

Kain looked at Cecil. "Truly, Sir?"

"Yes," Blackwood replied. "Raim and Glenn haven't showed up yet, although my knights reported seeing them earlier. They're going to be caught as well unless they are careful enough."

"Well, I hope that they are, Sir," Kain said.

"So do I," the commander replied.

"Anything else, Sir?" Kain asked. "You see... We ran into some imps the other night, and Cecil hurt his leg. I'd like to take him to the healer."

"Oh. How are you feeling, Cecil?"

Cecil took a deep breath. "I'm... fine, Sir. I just think I need rest."

"What, has Kain been carrying you for the last two days?" The commander inquired.

"Uh..." Cecil nodded. "Something like that, Sir."

"Well, I'll have to mention that when I make my report, that's all." Commander Blackwood smiled again. "But since you're in one piece, shouldn't be a problem. And if Kain did carry you half the way, he gets a honorable mention for that."

Kain smiled back nervously. "Er... Thank you, Sir. It was really... Cecil would have done the same thing for me. We're best friends."

"I know," their superior said. "Well, that is all, then. Good night, gentlemen. You two are going to make fine knights someday."

Kain grinned. "Good night! Although I think we're both going to sleep for a couple of days. We need some rest after this experience."

The commander laughed. "Go on then; you deserve it."

The next time Cecil opened his eyes, he was is a small room which he couldn't recognize right away. He remembered arriving to the South Guard Station and reporting to Commander Blackwood, but after that it was all blurry. He lifted his head a little to get a better understanding of his surroundings, and realized he was in bed, naked, and he wasn't alone - someone was holding him. "Kain...!?" He blurted out.

Kain opened his eyes. "Hmm? Oh, you're awake."

"Kain! What are you doing...?" Cecil mumbled, not really sure what was going on.

"Hey, take it easy," Kain tried to calm him. "You've been sleeping for two days you know."

"What?!"

Kain sat up and smiled. "Okay, I guess you don't remember that," he said. "What do you remember, then?"

"We..." Cecil started. "Is this the South Station? I remember we go there and..."

"Yep," Kain confirmed.

"Uh, I..." Cecil tried then gave up. "Just fill me in?"

"We arrived late in the evening," Kain explained. "After we reported to Commander Blackwood, I carried you to the Healer's Office. I think you passed out on the way or something. In any case, the healer there took care of most of your wounds with his magic, and he tied up your leg. He said you should rest for several days and try avoid walking."

"Oh, all right," Cecil said. "I'm not going anywhere, by the looks of it."

"Well, after that I brought you here, undressed you and you've been here ever since," Kain continued. "So have I, mostly. I slept pretty much all of yesterday. Today I was up a little; went out for a little walk, ate, talked to a couple of people I know. Tonight, I washed both of us. That's it. Now, want something to eat?"

"That would be nice," Cecil replied. "I'm starving."

Kain offered him some fruit that was on the desk near them. "Here you go. Better start with something light, and have more later."

Cecil took the food and started eating. "Well? Anything else?"

Kain laughed. "What else is there? Let's see... We got high marks for the training, of course. I talked to Frank and Ardyan this evening; they said they had fun avoiding the knights, but they were caught by some guards the second day. They also told me they had heard that Raim and Glenn had given themselves up this morning. It's the seventh day and they were about two days journey from here. Anyway, they were able to hide for almost a week, so the commander was most pleased."

"He should be," Cecil commented.

"Now, let's try to sleep," Kain said. "It's almost midnight." He lay back down and put his arms around Cecil.

"Kain...?" Cecil whispered.

"What?"

"I just..." Cecil gave him an embarrassed grin. "About... what happened in the forest, on the night I got hurt."

"What about it?" Kain inquired.

"Nothing, it was just... kinda nice," Cecil confessed.

"Good to hear that," Kain replied with a short laugh. "Sleep."

A few minutes passed, then Cecil moved a little and managed to turn around. "Kain?" He whispered. "How am I supposed to sleep while you're holding me like this? Why /are you holding me like this, anyway?"

"Because I care about you?" Kain muttered sleepily.

"Oh shut up," Cecil said and closed his eyes. "The feeling is mutual, anyway. Good night."

"Good night, my friend."

Authors' notes:

The 222 kiriban request from J. Marie. A FF4 Kain/Cecil lemon, with sweet stuff added. Why not? Lady Harken was thinking of writing some FF4 stories later anyway. So, we gave it a little thought, and I got this random idea. Well, looks like it ended up being a long fic. A funny detail though: Story was written by me alright, but the sex scene was written by Lady Harken. You see, I don't write those things. (For now.) Hope you liked it! We're terribly sorry that it took so long time.

- Elmina

Well, yes. And I will be writing more FF4 sometime... Hmm. Kain and Cecil. One of my favorite knight pairings. And yeah, I wrote that scene. Yes and I know I still suck at this. But in that situation, there wasn't much they could be doing and besides I really can't write good lemons yet. Well anyway. Hope you enjoyed reading that.

- Lady Harken (2001)