Diclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, or much of anything else for that matter. I own this laptop. And it's my baby...
A/N: This story might take a while for me to update because I'm juggling quite a few things. Like school, and finishing my novel. (Which I hope will get published.)
Chapter One
Surprise!
Sheena Fujibayashi roamed the cobbled streets of upper-class Meltokio, angrily surveying the surrounding manors, arms crossed over her chest and a scowl marring her features. That idiot Chosen, she huffed mentally while continuing down the street as a few powdered faces watched her begrudgingly. "What is she doing here?" the young woman could almost hear the socialites whispering to each other. As if they had any more right to walk these roads than she. When would they learn that they were no better than anyone else? That all humans were created equally, and should be treated as such. Perhaps that was how they were brought up. Perhaps they knew of no other way to act save pretentiously. It didn't matter. They had no one to blame their lack of good character upon but themselves.
A young brunette woman glared at Sheena from her doorstep, and when Sheena returned the hateful stare, she turned away with her nose to the air. Other than her snobbish aura, the woman was gorgeous. Her hair curled perfectly and poured down her shoulders, the color of rich cherry wood. She wore a fern green dress, the silver-lined hem reaching just to the ground while the rich color of the gown accentuated her eyes; only making her more striking. It was a pity, really. For such a lovely young woman to have such a bad attitude.
Making her way along the row of mansions, all the while looking for Zelos' mansion that he had so graciously opened up for his traveling companions. Every mansion seemed the same to Sheena, the woman who had grown up in a village of small houses that only contained the essentials. But now, as she wandered down the lane between the rows of grand homes, she felt that the most important task at hand was simply finding the one that belonged to the Chosen of Tethe'alla.
The past two days in the Wilder house had been tolerable to say the least, which came as a surprise to the young ninja. She expected mass chaos: Raine chasing Genis about the house threatening to render him comatose with her staff, Lloyd eating every scrap of food in sight, Colette tripping over the slightest of things and causing a domino effect of sorts that would end in some expensive piece of finery destroyed beyond repair, Zelos would bring home "hunny" upon "hunny" until Sheena herself would murder him. While Presea and Regal would most likely not cause too much of a problem, but would turn tail at the sight of the unrest before them.
But, thankfully, Sheena was wrong. Lloyd and Colette had been flirting more and more often now that the legendary Zelos coaching the young swordsman. Sheena had to admit, however hard it was, that through all of his faults, the egomaniacal letch knew a thing or two about charm. The ninja had counted how many times Colette blushed in the previous two days: a total of sixteen times, and most were the desired effect of a quick, stumbling compliment from Lloyd.
Genis and Raine had been shockingly well-behaved. The younger half-elf didn't anger his older sister quite so often, thus the healer avoided her violent outbursts and kept her staff in the umbrella holder beside the door, where it was appreciated at a distance. Zelos' butler, Sebastian, had been keeping Raine busy. Apparently, the old man had quite a few family heirlooms that were of historical value. Without the professor to hound them about educational matters, Lloyd and Genis were immensely happier.
Presea and Regal had taken to sharing stories about Alicia; memories of when she was alive. Often, the heartfelt recounts of the young woman ended when either one of them became too emotional to continue.
Then there was Zelos. He was his usual self: flirting with his "hunnies" if he passed them on the street, making comments to Colette that she never understood, (but thankfully either Raine or Sheena caught the joke and gave the proper punishment for the level of obscenity behind the innocent wording) and of course attempting to woo Sheena. If not, he had barely made himself known. Today, the deviant had been unusually quiet: whispering when he spoke to the others and nearly ignoring Sheena save for the pleasant "hello, hunny" he gave whenever the woman entered the room. And then, of course, the conversation they had shortly before Sheena set out onto the lovely cobbled streets of Meltokio:
Sheena had been staring blankly out of the window in the room she shared with Colette, her attention on the road below. Two children; a boy around the age of ten with sleekly-combed brown hair that framed his round, smiling face; and a girl only slightly younger with long, golden locks that grew straight downward to just below her shoulders in a perfect manner; played a game of tag. They both wore refined clothes: a deep blue suit on the lad and a white dress with gold trimmings emphasizing the girl's doll-like facial appearance. Their obviously pricey attire were only slightly soiled; light brown smudges placed sparingly on both children's garments.
Sheena, who had always had a soft spot for children, smiled absently. Whether they were of high or low class, children were children. They laughed and played and saw the world as something bright, new, and remarkably beautiful; something just waiting to be explored. But then they grew and became cynical and prejudiced, tainted by experience and bad upbringings. Sheena supposed that if the world were occupied by children only, there would be no wars, no racism splitting countries apart. But with the peace, the world would be chaotic and unorganized. Not to mention, reproduction would be a huge problem. Oh no, Sheena thought. I'm beginning to think like Zelos!
Then, in the midst of her pondering, Sheena heard a quick knock on the door followed by a polite "Miss Sheena" to which the young ninja started and let out a light yelp.
"Miss Sheena." It was Sebastian, his voice muffled by the slab of wood between them. "Are you alright?" He didn't sound concerned as much as he seemed impatient.
"I'm fine," Sheena replied, still not completely out of her daze. "Thank you."
"May I come in?" the manservant inquired. "Are you decent?"
"Huh? Yeah," Sheena answered as she rose from the window seat.
Sebastian opened the door crisply and entered the room, bringing with him his scent of talc and powder that reached Sheena slowly, but surely. The butler shut the door gingerly and clasped his gloved hands in front of him ostensibly waiting for Sheena to give him the permission to speak.
"Yes?" the ninja said after a few awkward moments of silence.
"Ah. Master Zelos requests your presence in the sitting room," he replied with a 'pleasant smile that didn't quite make it to his dull eyes.
Sheena narrowed her eyes in thought and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why couldn't Master Zelos tell me this himself?" she asked.
Sebastian chuckled. "If he did that, then of what use would I be?"
Sheena tilted her head to the side, signaling to the older man that he made a very valid point. "I guess you're right."
He let out another light chortle and turned towards the door, exiting the room; Sheena following behind him.
Down the stairs and into the living room complete with a fireplace (perfect for romance, according to Zelos) Sheena found the man who had summoned her. "What do you want?" she asked dropping herself into a large leather chair.
"Oh, I have so many answers to that question," Zelos answered, seated with the ankle of his right leg resting on his left knee. "You might want to get out a some paper and a pen for this one, hunny."
"Get down to the point," Sheena snapped, deadpanning.
"If you insist," Zelos said with a shrug. "I got you something."
Sheena raised a questioning eyebrow. "Really?"
"Really." Zelos nodded, proud of himself.
"And? Do you have it?"
"Slow down, my voluptuous hunny," Zelos rose and retrieved a small slip of paper from the coffee table in front of the couch he had been sitting on. "Here." He approached Sheena and handed her the paper. "Take this down to the tailor's office."
Sheena grabbed the note and examined it.
PLEASE GIVE SHEENA, MY HUNNY, THE GIFT I ORDERED FOR HER.
THANKS,
ZELOS
"What is this all about?" Sheena asked him after reading the neatly-written message.
"Patience is a virtue, dearest." And that was that. He sent her on her way down to the tailors.
Little did she know, Sheena would find only a skimpy negligee at the tailors', the outfit which ended up balled up and tossed out the door.
Sheena expected the black, semi-transparent, fuzzy-edged, vulgar costume still sat on the edge of the street in a tight ball.
Finally, Sheena made it to the conspicuously large mansion that belonged to Zelos Wilder: Chosen and Man-Whore of Tethe'alla. Stalking up the stairs, Sheena made fists at her sides and imagined how many different ways she could do physical and emotional harm to Zelos for making her walk aimlessly around Meltokio while receiving condescending looks from the rich, lascivious glances from the guards and other men, and the heart wrenching gazes from those whose fates had been frowned upon when she had wandered into the Slums. But there was more: Sheena planned to personally break every bone in Zelos' body for, after making her go on a wild tour throughout the capital, "surprising" her with a suggestive outfit he hoped she'd wear. There was no way that little pervert was going to make it out of his house alive.
Sheena pulled open the door with such force, that it nearly flew from its hinges. But instead of the peaceful, expensive interior of the manor, she saw colorful streamers hanging from every possible angle. And from inside, Sheena heard the pent-up cheer of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHEENA!"