For some reason, the rake and shovel of Katsuya-jiisan had been knocked over into his wheelbarrow very late last night and had alerted the neighborhood. Of course, no one had been seen near the fallen items, so, the next morning, the villagers had gathered in the inn to discuss of the event. After a few hypothesis about bandits coming to steal food and monsters passing through, everyone had dismissed the incident.......

Everyone except Koh..

The small boy had still been awake at that ungodly hour, not feeling quite tired enough to obey to his mother's order of getting into bed.. So he had played with his few toys on the window sill while all slept peacefully. It was then that he had noticed a group of people, obviously travellers due to the foreign-ness of their clothing, pass through the town, apparently trying not to awake the villagers.

He observed them for a while, thinking that maybe he should go downstairs to invite them to stay over at their inn.. But then, one of the group's member had made the gardening tools fall off the wall they'd been leaning onto.

What happened afterwards was rather funny.. All made a run for the forest and a few had fallen, making for a very entertaining scene. He would have watched some more if it hadn't been for the imposing presence of his mother stood behind him and ordered him back in his bedding.

Right now, it was nearing lunch time, but that didn't have any consequence to the little boy that laid on his stomach on the village's inner dock. Hand submerged in the calm, clean water, he gently petted a friendly fish's back as his young mind analyzed the past events.

So many interesting things happened this year.. various visitors, all with different stories and news about the bordering countries that surrounded Banner, had come to Banner.

It was much more than what the nine year old kid could have ever hoped to see here.

He had heard more things about the outside countries in a month than he had in all those previous eight years. Never had he actually thought there would be so many exciting and new adventures going on outside his home village.

While all this was superb and gave Koh more change of hearing stories of what was happening in that country up the river, his curious mind thirst for more. The more stories he heard, the more his desire for travelling and adventure grew.

For all the entertainment those story have been, he wanted to have a first-hand experience of a great and exciting adventure.

A gentle, humid breeze suddenly blew in the area, disturbing the water and making little ripples on its surface. The short, dark strands of hair toppling the boy's head moved accordingly to the winds, tickling his youthful forehead and temples. Koh did not bother brushing them away, seeing as they would only be blown back to their previous position.

"Nee, Mai... It's a perfect day to start an adventure, eh? What do you think?"

His chin was tucked in his other arm's elbow while he looked at the water without actually seeing the water and his projected reflection. Again and again, the stories that nice pretty lady told him and his sister about the Tenkai replayed in his mind. It filled him with images of proud bow-wielding elves & Kobold fighters, of warriors going against an evil vampire who had kidnapped many young maidens, of Dragon Knights riding on the back of their dragons as they flew down on the enemy...

Really, honestly, without one doubt, Koh craved an adventure as big as the Tenkai's. He too would become a great hero who would gather a whole bunch of friends and allies to help him on his quest to defeat... whatever bad guys were making a huge mess of the upper contries. Yep! He would become a Tenkai and be courageous, wize and be followed by friends that would do anything to help their joint cause.

Koh sprang up on his feet, scaring the life out of his little fishy friend who swam speedily away to avoid unintentional harm from the little boy. He looked up at the distant blue sky with determination. His path was clear to his young mind. He would first get out of Banner village and go out in the world to get himself a... er... how much again?..........

In any case, he would get many, many people to save the country from the baddies!!!

"Hey, Koh! Still daydreaming about the Tenkai, are you?"

Now, that was a voice he hadn't heard for a long four.. or was it five years? Turning on his heels, Koh looked up at something that might have been a dream.

Standing in front of him, the shape of a young man approached to stop his tracks right before he would touch the wooden planks that constituted the pier. A cheerful smile played on his lips as he waited for the young boy to react. His attire was of foreign design and his face of darker constitution than those living at the village, but he still overall looked to be the same as before. Shoulder length black hair tied in a ponytail, dark chocolate irises warmed over by an optimistic point of view in life.

"Take-niichan!" came out the overjoyed greeting of a small red mass throwing itself against the taller form. The young adult was promptly bombarded with a barrel of questions. "When did you come back!? Did you bring us souvenirs like you promised to??? How come you're wearing different clothes?? Where did you get them???" Koh's eyes shone with joy and excitement at the newcomer.

Chuckling at his former neighbour's enthousiasm, Takehiko ruffled Koh's hair before speaking.

"Is that any way of welcome me back here, Koh?"

The bundle of excitement that had the shape of a small nine year old latched on Takehiko's waist nodded rapidly, smiling widely at him.

"I see that you don't care much for me, do you?" The man voiced out in a mock-hurt tone, then laughed good-naturedly at Koh's slightly embarassed pixie face. "I'm just kidding, don't worry. Yes.. I have brought back some stuff that I found while travelling. I-"

"Oooh! I wanna see them!!! Can I!? Can I!?" interrupted Koh urgently, eyes twinkling.

"Alright, alright," Takehiko laughed again at his excitement. "Let's return to the inn if you really want to check them out. I left my bags with your father."

"YAY!!! Let's go right now!!"

With that, Koh sprinted back to his home, red trailing behind him as he went. Still laughing, the young traveller walked to the inn at a slower pace than his young friend had, following the same trail.

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"Koh" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami. This chapter was posted on September 1, 2000