The day was incredibly hot. A bright yellow sun beat down on the land with a remarkable intensity, without a single cloud to stand against it. Kosuke walks down a hard-packed trail beneath this sun. The trail has been hardened by ages of travelers, merchants, and all manners of people treading its dry earth. A few miles back the sun had not been a problem, as the path was lined with a multitude of lush green trees. But the relief provided by that forest had long been replaced by a wide expanse of grassland. Surely this must be the farming area for the village the traveler is steadily approaching.<br/><br/>It is fortunate that his robes are a bright white, that reflects the light, and surely weigh no more than a pound or two. Such a manner of dressing provides much relief from the sweltering day mother nature has given. The same fortune, however, cannot be attributed to the traveler himself. His ebony hair has the opposite effect that his clothes hold, attracting and then holding much of the intense heat forced down upon him. Surely if he had not pulled his hood up, the heat would have been unbearable, and his ivory skin would have long been seared red by the merciless ball of fire hovering above him.<br/><br/>The traveler's fortune however is about to worsen, for the roads are not kind to lone travelers. There is a rustling in the tall grass bordering the road. With a startled eye the weary traveler scans his surroundings. There is no doubt that he is no longer alone, and so the traveler makes a decision. He decides on which of his limited options he will take to face the situation.<br/><br/>"Hello?" Kosuke calls in his child-like voice, "Is someone there?" ... perhaps not the smartest option.<br/><br/>A laughter comes from the grass as at least six burly men-- each nearly twice Kosuke's size-- reveal themselves and step onto the path, blocking the traveler from all angles. They look rough and hardened, and each one is accompanied by an intimidating weapon. While they are frightening in demeanor, they had surely seen better days. Perhaps it had been a while since someone passed along this particular stretch of land, and perhaps the last one left them some wounds to lick. The biggest one in particular had a rather clotted bandage around his left forearm. Being a healer, of course this did not escape the traveler's attention.<br/><br/>"I'll say this only once," the biggest man said, a cruel smile adorning his harsh face, "Give us all yer money and food, and we might let ya walk away alive."<br/><br/>The other men laughed wickedly. It appeared they were eager to reestablish themselves after whatever had happened with the last person or persons they encountered.<br/><br/>Kosuke looked up at them each in turn, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide and curious. They looked like the eyes of a child; wide and observant, with the light shining off them in a pure innocence. If however one were to look closer, they might notice other traits betrayed by those eyes: kindness, intelligence, and perhaps the impression of one who has seen a lot of hardships.<br/><br/>For a while, Kosuke simply looked at each of the men and watched as they looked down at him with their cruel eyes, laughing slightly at the joy of finding such easy prey. He stole one last glance at the biggest man's injury and gave his reply to their demands:<br/><br/>"How about I make a deal with you instead?" He asked. Though he surely had to be nervous at his current situation, his voice was calm and collected, and his eyes did not shake in the usual way they do in the face of fear.<br/><br/>The biggest man's smirk turned into a scowl, and he growled at the traveler, "We don't make no deals, kid." The burly man raised his weapon in an intimidating way, and his cronies did the same.<br/><br/>"I'd rather keep my food and money," Kosuke continued, despite the bandit's premature refusal. "How about I give you free medical attention instead? I'm a healer, and I could make that arm of yours as good as new. If you just took my food and money, the treatment for a wound like that would cost more than you could possibly take from me. And I'm sorry to tell you this, but if you don't get it treated soon, best case scenario you'll lose your arm. Actually, it's much more likely that you'll die," he said matter-of-factly.<br/><br/>The man still had his sword raised, but suddenly, the look in his eyes was a lot less confident. After a long moment of thinking, the bandit growled and lowered his sword. "Ya better not try to pull nothin'," he grumbled.<br/><br/>Kosuke gave a friendly smile and examined the man's wound. It was a lot worse than the bandage had lead him to believe. There was already some yellow puss oozing out from the wound, and the area around it was red and inflamed. "Oh, dear," Kosuke said, "It's already infected. You're really lucky I came by or you'd definitely be dead within a weak." The traveler pulled out various medical supplies out of his bag as he spoke, and the bandit got an increasingly nervous look on his face at the diagnosis.<br/><br/>"Hold still now," Kosuke said, as he held out his pallid hands over the wound. There was a warm white light that came from his hands and enveloped the wound as he spoke reassuring words to his patient. "There are few herbs that can heal something after it's been infected. However, it's a simple task when you use white magic. Lucky for you I happen to be rather gifted with white magic." Soon he had finished using magic and was spreading some herbs over the now uninfected wound, and wrapping it in a clean bandage.<br/><br/>"I prefer to conserve my magic," Kosuke said, "but with this, your arm should be perfectly healed in about ten days," Kosuke gave the man a friendly smile. "So how about it? Am I free to go?"<br/><br/>The man had been kind of dazed, but now he stood up. He moved his arm around and gripped it with his other hand. It felt much better than it had before. Some of the man's cronies still looked like they were itching to fight, but the leader held out a hand to stop them.<br/><br/>"There'll be others," he snapped at them. "Get outa here," the bandit snarled at Kosuke, "before I change my mind!"<br/><br/>Kosuke gave a nervous smile, gathered up his things and quickly left his present location.<br/><br/>Now once again he had to face the blazing sun as he made his way down the last leg of the path to town.