Note To Readers: Just another idea picked up from the back of my mind while riding in the car for many long hours, for some unknown reason. Just another Sheelos fic, this one will be a bit angsty at times and fluffy at others. I actually worked a lot in this chapter... a lot. In other words, I put in a lot of effort on this chapter so hopefully; everyone will give me some feedback, please?

Summary: One never knew who her parents were while the other wished he had known his parents better. Through a flock of black ravens, they found each other and a place in their own worlds. Sheelos, angst, fluff

Dedication: I'm dedicating to both of my grandmothers…who both left this world too early for me to understand them better. Wherever you are, I hope you're in perfect peace. Sometimes, I wish you'd come back once more. But that would be impossible and against all laws of nature so instead, I wrote this fic to show how much both of you mean to me.


The world would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.

-John Vance Cheney


Crying Without Tears

Chapter I: Heavenly Sonata

By Rose-Wisteria

His fingers meandered across the bark of the willow tree while his teary ocean coloured marbles focused on the leaves without a care for anything else in the worlds. She had disappeared from his life so many years ago and yet, the pain still persisted on and on in his heart. The male in the black polo shirt stood there and inhaled several breaths of fresh air from the forest, obtaining some love of freedom and relief from the fact that he was away from any city or town. The forests near the Izoold were a great place to reminisce lost memories, but mostly, to rest in the pleasure that he was in a more comforting place and to feel a great measure of pride of the years he had spent still spend standing on his own two feet.

For once, the Chosen seemed far more engrossed in his thoughts swirling teasingly in him than the ideas of others passing by him. His white headband rested on his forehead, not even a single stain dared to spoil the colorless item, while his wavy fiery hair flowed with the breeze that moved through the forest He sighed. It was useless thinking about her now. She was never coming back. The woman he had known so little about, who had died a terrible death so many years ago, and yet, the memory was so fresh as if it had been imprinted deep within his conscience forever.

Snow falling… the endless white dots falling down from the horizon. The tickling sensation in one's mouth was now descending to their world. They were harmless. Of course they were, since they were mere snowflakes.

But to the former Chosen, the snow he saw before his eyes were dangerous, even deadly. It was no ordinary snow he saw, all white and unique. On that day, they were all the same- crimson.

Shaking his head, he drew his vision back to the bark of tree instead of that memory from so long ago. If only that attack had hit him instead, she would still be here. If only he had never been born, everything would be back to normal. Then again, if he weren't born, some other unfortunate individual would have taken his place. Leaving this discussion behind, he held his arms tightly to himself, feeling the breeze, no longer so friendly and pleasant, but upset. He left the forest and headed for the gorge.

Flying beasts or any sort of monsters no longer inhabited the Ossa trail near the forests any longer. Both worlds were no longer fighting for mana. Exspheres were no longer needed and people haven't been in battles for the last two years. This had made life easier for everyone.

The male around the age of twenty-four grabbed his pink vest and went to the trail, which led to the mountains. He had promised that he had to come here today… even if it was going to rain. He peered up at the sky, the gloomy clouds were already forming and the blue skies were gone now. He sighed to himself; it was going to be a long trip around the trail and through the mountains.

"I am Zelos Wilder." He mumbled under his breath. These words gave him strength even through the first hard years of his life when he wished to be dead, to run away forever. He knew he must not lose within himself and be hopeful no matter what lay ahead. That's what he had come to the trail for, right?


"Dad, can we go hiking today?" Little and innocent Chosen asked his father.

The man did not answer. He stood there motionless like a statue until his own mother came up to the man, placed a comforting hand on her husband, and smiled in her own special way. Zelos watched silently until his father nodded and left the room. His elegant mother bended down to have eye contact with her son. His eyes darted up with curiosity.

"Your father is the Chosen, Zelos, you know that. He's a very busy man." She spoke in his father's place. The disappointment on the little boy's face reflected his mood. Mylene spotted this. "On the other hand, I will take you. I promise." Zelos jumped with delight and hugged his mother tightly, something that their family did not do very often.


He slowly opened his eyes, knowing that the childhood memories would always remain in his mind and heart as long as he continued to live. Suddenly brought back to reality, he heard a scream from the distant road. This time fainter but too piercing so that he could not ignore. He broke into a sprint towards the owner of that voice. The sound was ringing through his ears as he dashed through the small amount of rain, which was increasing by the minute. A downpour soon enough, no doubt.
Why am I so afraid of "Kuchinawa"? The girl in the purple outfit asked herself, even thinking of the meanings of names at a time like this. True, it was no Mithos or Summon Spirits, but despite the small creature it was, she was still shaking at the thought of that slithering body across the ground just inches away from her. The picture of the scaly viper right behind her, twisting toward her immobile body and staring at her fragile back with its reptile eyes, caused her heart to race at an unprecedented speed. Its tongue flicked in a hiss from its fanged mouth as it shook its tail, emitting a rattle sound. She could hear it as well! The rattling was increasing in volume. What in Martel's name was she to do? Kill the creature? After not touching her weapons in years?

"Ah-ha! Gotcha." Oh-no. The tone she knew too well.

With what little courage she could muster, she turned around with shaking legs that she could not keep still and quaking had seized her body. What if the snake was still there? Amazingly, she found no sign that there was ever a snake at all! Heaving out a sigh of relief, she thought she was safe until she lifted her attention to the person who was gazing at her, making some uncomfortable degree of flushness on her fair skin. Teasing blue orbs harassed her, and she found her voice soon again just from meeting the man again. He wore the same outfit and had the same appearance; there could not be any other explanation. It was her good old friend Zelos Wilder.

Indeed, he held one of his gloves with something moving inside it. Zelos smiled to see someone he knew and had not seen in some time. Most of all, he saw the uneasy attitude she displayed, adding an amused twitch to his lips. Perhaps there was some fun to be had after all. There she was, folding her arms across her midriff with that look on her face.

"With all my luck, I met the hottest one of all to be my damsel in distress," he smirked. At least, some people never change.

"Oh, courageous Zelos Wilder who saved me from a snake. How heroic of you!" Sheena threw a handful of sarcasm into their conversation.

The philanderer chuckled heartily upon hearing that comment. Sheena will always be Sheena.

"To imagine, the same Sheena who was brave enough to take on millions of monsters with cards as her only weapon, was shaking when she saw a small reptile." A glint of amusement twinkled in his eyes as he added with reassurance, "don't worry though, I'm here."

The woman in front of him tapped her right foot in annoyance. He found it immensely pleasurable to be able to talk like this to his well-known friend and knowing how she would react. Truly, after spending all that time with this lovely ninja and not knowing what to say to her after all these years, it would be a shame to call him "The Great Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Tethe'alla". Not that he wanted to be a Chosen again.

"I felt better off with the snake actually," the summoner replied with a small smirk, hinting at her annoyance with her tone. After watching Zelos go "ouch, that hurts", she knew he still wanted to play along with their old patterns for their ways of conversation. "Now then, I guess I'll be going now. I'd better find Orochi before I completely lose my sense of direction and run into another idiot." She turned and continued her stroll, ignoring the small raindrops and the look on the former Chosen's face.

Peering up at the threatening clouds looming overhead, which seemed to thrust upward into the belly of the grey sky, he briefly mused over the fact that a storm was coming. The fiery male found it such a lovely day to wander around the gorge by himself. Plus the fact that the road was slippery added to Zelos's prediction of what a wonderful hike he had ahead of him already, and wished that the only place he had chosen to be in at that moment was the only place he fully recognized his bad judgement. Nevertheless, he found it pointless to head back now and leave himself soaked to the bone.

Knowing that she was probably farther up the trail now, Zelos merely shrugged at her attitude and freed the creature from his glove. The rattling began. He heard a small shriek, and started having images of Sheena being nervous because of a snake when he suddenly heard an awkward slipping sound. It wasn't what he thought it was… right? Now, it was time to sweat a bit.

Racing around, almost as fast as his heart was pounding at the moment, he tried hard to find any sign of the ninja he had met just moments ago. He was growing worried and was hoping with all his heart that she was okay. The heavy droplets continued to pelt on him, causing his snarled strands of hair to fall into his eyes. The wind was not helping either as it cut through his whole freezing body like an icy blade tilted with trouble. With concern pounding in his mind he could barely make out the voice. It was very faint, but he heard it at the bottom of the hill. He slid down carefully and saw the Mizuho lass sitting there, holding onto her right boot tightly.

He came up to her and the two of them made eye contact. The violet-flecked orbs with a glint of raven observed him, a stare sending a small shiver down his spine.

"Zelos… it's you again." She stated casually.

He wiped away some strands of hair from his eyes to get a better view of her. Annoyed at the fact that his hair was always in his eyes on rainy days he forced a small smile and lifted a curious brow at her statement.

Observing her, he could tell her delicate ankle was twisted (yes, even with boots covering up her ankle from his concerned gaze!) but everything else seemed to be fine. Slowly, trying not to seem too obvious, he elevated his gaze to the fine bone structure she possessed in her slender fingers. Though they were slender, they were not as silky or soft as the ones he had seen in Meltokio on all of his hunnies. Obviously, she had been training a lot lately despite the fact that the world was at peace. Still, he wanted to hold onto her hand to feel the touch of such a beauty instead of simply admiring it. However, he managed to subdue his urge for he knew Sheena a little bit too well. Sheena felt a deep flush of color appear on her cheeks when she caught his eyes staring at her open fingers.

Keeping her eyes content, she laughed mentally to see his so-called precious hair being so whipped up by the wind and soaked by the raindrops that it slashed into his face during the next few seconds.

At last, Zelos raised a question. "Did you find your precious boyfriend yet?"

"Boyfriend? You mean Orochi?" Zelos watched as Sheena's eyes filled with amazement at his simple question. Surprise was evident in her voice. Her lips were in the shape of an "huh?" which made a small addition to his smirk.

Zelos laughed. "Who else?" Sheena felt a warm blush creep into her cheeks at this assumption, probably even more crimson than before. Was Zelos implying something? She would have slapped him if she had the energy. It seemed the accidental slip had sapped the last vestige of her strength, making her feel a bit uneasy. Instead, she decided to turn her head away from him, making him frown. He took off his white headband, wiped his forehead, and peered up at the darkened sky once more. There was no sign of it clearing any time soon and the fact that it was really late right now made him. "We should find shelter… I know of a small shelter near here."

The Mizuho citizen suddenly raised her hand and stroked some raindrops on his cheek. He couldn't stop himself from holding her hand, stopping it from retreating from his cheek. Indeed, her hands could have been more lady-like. Next, he carefully stroked his fingers across the fragile bones on the back of her hand and his digits found their way up, inspecting the strong and slender fingers she processed. This was where he stopped, keeping her hand in place. The comfort he took in this simple gesture brought some warmth back to his bitterly cold body and face. Beneath his searching gaze, Sheena felt another blush stealing into her cheeks and was quite glad that Zelos was occupied so that he didn't catch this.

"My mom used to do this to me…" He spoke slowly and quietly.

Sheena staggered for a moment and did not know how to answer until a fierce blast of air flattened the top of her hair, making the strands of violet fly into her face. This was when she noticed that her hair had been damp all this time. The next thing she did was pulling her hand away from his face, seeing some disappointment on his features as she did so.

"Let's hurry." She got up to her feet, but stumbled to the hard grass beneath her again. Zelos saw this after blinking against the heavy droplets that had settled on him.

Leaning towards her, he caught her immediate attention. Here, their bodies were inches away from each other, and he could smell the fresh scent of her hair. Sheena could smell the laundry aroma from his clothes, which had probably been washed recently, and the masculine scent of him as well. Turning his back to her, he bent down, leaving his back for her to hop on to as Sheena stared at it.

"Is this a demand or request?" She questioned, raising a brow.

"Whatever, just go." Zelos instructed her.

First, she wrapped her arms around his neck and climbed onto his back. He held her legs tightly and took a step forward, knowing that she was light enough to carry. With one last confirmation, he started taking her to the nearby shelter. How soft and womanly she felt against him as she clasped his neck in a tighter grip when he started speeding up. This pleasure he derived from this experience gave him cause to wonder if he had been such a Casanova all his life that he had forgotten the decency of just being a gentleman to a young, beautiful woman within his gasp with no intention of forcing her to bed him.

As for Sheena, she didn't know what to believe. She left her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his back and knowing that he actually knew what he was doing for once. She liked this feeling, something she did not admit at first. The way his strong back was against her was comforting, more than she had imagined it would be. This walk gave her time to relax and she took no notice of the pouring rain around her. Her heart grew light with relief from the day's walk as she flicked a wary glance at his face, so serious at that moment and not at all devious like it usually was. Her arms wrapped tighter around his neck, making him choke at first until she loosened them again. The feeling of being cared for… how much she missed it.


After a few more steps, they finally arrived at a house. Inside, the owner guided them to the only spare room he had left. Zelos sat down on the floor with some coffee near his side while the heater worked smoothly, filling the room with the warmth they needed. Moments later Zelos glanced over at the girl sitting on the corner of the bed with her legs dangling off the mattress.

The redhead smirked clearly towards the girl, dragged his soaked clothes over his head, and placed them neatly on the bed frame to dry. The sight of a lean waist and bare chest unnerved Sheena from her senses for she could not remember ever seeing any half-garbed males before. Small droplets of water left behind by his clothes dripped down his torso as the ninja was conscious of her stare at his bold appearance, embarrassing herself but mesmerized enough not to look away. However, he could still hear her gasp from her place on the corner of the bed. He continued to pace in front of her and brought the redness to her cheeks. Sheena couldn't help but gave several glances at his open top. But whenever she saw him watching her, she returned her gaze to her leg.

"Are you hungry?" Zelos asked suddenly. She brought her attention away from her leg for the moment with serious eyes.

"No." Her one-word answer came and she returned to her quiet mood.

"Good, my voluptuous hunny." Zelos shot back. This shocked her and brought her attention back up at him almost immediately. Zelos smirked in triumph. "Because I only brought food for myself." Her face turned bright red. He could see out of the corner of his eyes that her fist tightened at this thought and the next thing she did was an attempt to hit him on the shoulder like always. Zelos feigned innocence with a sweet smile at his companion.

Unexpectedly however, she tumbled on the floor as the male climbed down the side of the bed to inspect his future hunny. Zelos halted abruptly beside Sheena; his glistering blue orbs inspected her leg for a few seconds, recalling her accident before they came to the safe roof to settle under. The summoner felt weak in his gaze, cringing at the thought of his judgment of her as a weak babe. She knew how it must look after shivering at the sound of a snake, having this fear of the small reptile, and fully expected Zelos to tease her more than she could handle. With her lack of attention on him, his eyes elevated to her curved hips and then to her well endowed chest but shot back down to where her ankle would be if it weren't for her boots covering it, after she glanced back at him. Zelos knew if he wanted to get out of this place in one piece, he had better avoid his temptations at all costs.

Then, without another word, he bent down and picked her up in his arms, alarming the Mizuho native almost immediately.

"Zelos! What in Martel's name are you doing? Put me down this instant!" Sheena gasped, outraged that Zelos had taken advantage of her when she let her guard down and that he had taken it upon himself to decide what was going to be done to her. Never in her life did she allow another man besides her Grandpa with enough courage to carry her, and even when her Grandpa had done so she had been a mere child.

The fiery redhead rejected her objections without a single ridicule. The way Zelos carried her in his arms with one arm holding her legs securely and the other holding the back of her neck, Sheena felt safe nonetheless. The more Zelos felt her shaking legs on top of his strongly muscled arms, the more he knew it would be better to put her down on the bed before she slapped him the minute he released her. Testing her weight, he noticed how light she was and certainly no burden to carry for any longer amount of time. At last, he placed his carrying victim on the soft bed in a slow and gentle motion, bringing a sign of relief to Sheena.

His eyes dipped toward her boots again, but clearly indicating her ankle, as if pointedly hinting to Sheena where his aim was at to free his name from the earlier misconception. Zelos was growing impatient.

"Let me see your ankle." Zelos growled in a low tone.

"No!" Sheena pulled her legs away from his sight towards the floor again and tried to make an escape to the door when the male caught her wrist and tugged her back to his side. To her surprise she found that he was quick.

Taking hold of her arm completely, he dragged her close to his shirtless top. Sheena found her heart thumping fast while her breathing hastened. More heat appeared on her pale cheeks, she remembered her small fantasies of her future husband wiping her reddened ankles with his fingers when she was young. Dismissing her slovenly fantasies, she reminded herself that it was Zelos who would do this deed for her and knew she should not grow prey to these useless daydreams.

The Chosen knew he must be careful when performing this action as he let go of her shoulders, regrettably, and knelt down before her for a better position. Even though she knew he was not up to no good, she was still leery at his advancements. Hastily, the fiery-headed male took off her boots, hearing a tiny gasp escaping the Mizuho beauty. He bent over to have a closer look at her ankle, finding it swollen with a huge cut slithering down the side. At least, it was not twisted. The former Chosen shook his head in dismay as he wiped the reddened skin in encompassing circles using his thumb on top of his red handkerchief. The female jerked at the sting and clenched her teeth, trying not to cry out. Tough personality, he reminded himself. Placing her small heel on his leg, he wiped around her ankle one last time.

After he finished, he returned his handkerchief to his pocket as Sheena touched her ankle lightly.

"Thanks." She mumbled to him. Now, her body was much more calm and she sat on the bed, staring out of the window.

Taking one last glance at his most wanted hunny of all, Zelos stood up and went to the bathroom to blow-dry his wet hair. Waiting for the footsteps to die out, Sheena calmed herself from the situation she was in right now and slowly relaxed at the touch of the smooth surface below her, pushing up against her to provide her drowsiness. It was a bed after all, Sheena mentally reminded herself. Leaning her head down a little, she listened with her senses to the rain that was so soothing to hear. The way a raindrop would waver down the windowpane brought a soft ring to her soul and a soft grin to her face. The droplets were as pleasing to view with the eyes, as they were to hear with the ears.

Her dry hair was bundled up on top of her shoulders, untied. The first thing she did when she came to a warm shelter for the evening was to dry her hair unlike some procrastinators. Hearing the quick-paced steps thundering their way towards her position, she felt the presence of the man next to her, sitting and staring at the same thing she was. Sometimes, she forgot that he had such a sweet side to him. The serious side she had encountered many times before, but she found him very moody just now. She knew him too well, too much for her own good.

The raindrops continued to drip down the windowpane while the two observers sat side by side. The only sound in the room was the sound of the rain pattering against the glass.

"Why do I find the sound of the rain so calming?" Sheena nearly whispered the question to the person by her side, unconsciously. He sat closer to her, hearing her slow breaths.

"Simple. Different people find different things soothing. For some people, it is staring at a painting while for others smelling flowers. For you, my darling, it is hearing the raindrops hit against the window. And for me, it is admiring my hot hunnies." The Casanova replied, carefully selecting his words for Sheena.

With his ending remark, he received another teasing smack on the shoulder from Sheena. "More like flirting."

Relaxing at the sound, she slowly closed her eyes and listened the beating sound of her heart and the raindrops. The two sounds seemed to be keeping a pattern with one another, as if understanding each other and making music for her ears only. The rhapsody continued on and on.

Taking another chance to admire this adored lass, the philanderer tilted his orbs to the corner of his sight and saw the ninja still, as if asleep for she was closing her eyes and breathing warmly. He grew wary of the respect he still held for his friend for his wandering hands, undeniably, had wanted her for years but he could never find the courage to do it. However, there was nothing stopping him from taking glimpses at her slender body with voluptuous curves as an addition to the offering for his feasting eyes as if this was his first meal in weeks. The hunger that lingered on in his face went on unnoticed and left him wondering what secret formula she always used to have this effect on him. What was the main ingredient in this meal that drew him ever so closer to her?

Softly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, letting the ninja drop her head onto his shoulder and snuggle up to his chest. Inside, Zelos knew she did not know how close they were right now and if she were more conscious she would have given him a slap or two. He was never afraid of a challenge, especially with Sheena. Slowly, he lowered his chin on top of her smooth, silky hair and let himself cherish this moment forever. How much he wished he could just trap this moment into a small bottle and open it whenever he needed something to comfort him! Sighing to himself, he had to let go and take care of the ramen he was making. At the same time, he pulled on his dried shirt but he left the gloves untouched.

Inwardly, the Mizuho native had felt his presence the entire time but had decided not to say a word for she felt if she was to shout or smack the former Chosen, she might have disturbed the rare peace going on between the two of them. For a fact, she knew how much she had desired to know the warmth of the human body especially that of a man and had let herself indulge in her curiosity. Indeed, his chest felt hard against her back and yet, there was a sense of tenderness along with the other feelings and emotions. It felt grand. His arms, just minutes ago, had been dangling along her shoulders and for those few moments, she had caught the muscles pushing down upon her weaker shoulders. Making it gentler for her though, Sheena amazed herself by thinking that Zelos might actually be a man a while ago. The hardness of his chest against her slender back and the tough arms he processed had caused her to regret what she had missed out on having experiences with the opposite gender. But if she considered Zelos as a good example of the male gender for that small amount of time, then what had he been before? A half-man? Sheena jeered mentally with a small smirk of her own.

The former Chosen tried his best to keep his eyes on the coffee and ramen even though he knew someone was spying on him at that moment. After Zelos couldn't take it anymore, he turned around as Sheena withdrew her glance back to window and kept to her quiet self once more. The redhead flicked a questioning brow upwards and immediately observed a small glance back at him from the denied one. Sometimes, Zelos felt that she reminded him of someone, someone very dear to him. Sheena could be very outspoken, and at other times, she could be very secretive and kept to herself. Then, she could well be in denial. Maybe it was one of those times. He quickly poured the coffee into one cup and made a bowl of ramen for her, catching some of the steam on his face. Wrinkling his nose for a few seconds, he continued his task.

Steadily he held the bowl up in both hands, and walked towards her with a smile on his face. Her eyes observed him for a moment before they both sat on the floor to enjoy the rest of the evening they had together. She ate the ramen and gazed at him with his glass of alcohol. Something told her that there was a certain subject on his mind, holding him back from everything around him. His eyes were distant, he was off in his own world surrounding himself with clouds and keeping his thoughts hidden from the people around him so she could not see them, which made her feel anxious for no reason. What could have caused this? She surely did not know.

The awkward silence between them continued for neither of them wanted to talk about the simple and affectionate gesture they had shared before the window with sparkling raindrops nor the different shift of mood they were sensing from each other. Zelos found Sheena a bit too secretive today, not as outspoken as usual while Sheena found Zelos a bit too polite today, not as leery as usual. The difference in both of them was observed by each other and at the same time, they failed to see the changes in themselves. The sight of sadness filling in the depths of Zelos's usually happy eyes was reflected even more clearly from the flame ascending from the candles around them, which allowed Sheena to observe the former Chosen closely. Something must be done.

After finishing her ramen in taciturnity, she tried to lift the shady mood Zelos was in today. If he was not going to be the one to shake things off, then surely she must take his place for now. He had really tried to be himself, but she just didn't buy it. There was too much trying involved and with this attitude, she felt even more insecure around his presence. Knowing that he was still the dirty perverted man she remembered, she could at least taste the ramen he made for her from the care of their friendship rather than those of a stranger. She held the hot cup of coffee in her hands, carefully balancing it with her thumb and palm.

"Black…" She suddenly mumbled, drawing some attention to the other person.

"My mother, too, drank black coffee. Plain black coffee." Zelos revealed some sign of awareness at last, but left his eyes on his own glass.

The Mizuho citizen tilted her head to the side upon hearing this comment. His mother? She bit her lip. The situation seemed to just sink deeper.

"Love is like a cup of coffee, isn't it?" Zelos took his attention away from his drink and shifted it to her. This comment caught his attention.

"Sometimes it's cold and at other times, it's warm. If you leave it out for too long, a warm coffee can go cold. Just like love…" She continued her explanation, sounding like a teacher talking to a student.

"But like coffee, if you heat it up…it will be warm again. Also, coffee can be very addictive." Zelos added for Sheena, liking the direction the conversation was heading in already. "You can say the same thing about alcohol too. However much you try, you can't use logic to stop drinking it."

Sheena frowned for a second; thinking of something to continue with and, at the same time, feeling like winning another battle with the familiar former Chosen. This was what she wanted from the man. Just a smooth dialogue where it didn't end in a fight and become quite a challenge.

"Then, you really do want to have the courage… to get a grip of yourself and stop. You really want to have the courage to stop loving someone, but it's hard." The summoner spoke carefully.

Zelos looked down at the floor for what felt like a long time until he finally got up and forcefully smiled down at Sheena. "True… some things are just hard to forget as well." He sighed. Then, a grin appeared on his face suddenly. This time, it truly was a grin. "Then again, we just have to move on."

Silence.

Zelos murmured something under his breath but otherwise remained mute until he could find some other subject to turn to. "I guess it's dozing time. I really do need my beauty sleep, and I'm sure you do too." The summoner opened her mouth to reply when he interrupted. "I know I know, it's not good to sleep straight after dinner but I really don't care." He placed the glass on the floor.

Sheena continued to stare. At last, after she awakened from her little trance, she noticed for the first time since she'd been here that there was only one bed for both Zelos and herself. Zelos was now on the left side of the bed, sleeping on his side or at least, this was how it was until he felt the kicks. He opened his sleepy eyes, staring at a furious Sheena. This was going to turn out to be quite fantastic.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded to know, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Sleeping." Zelos decided to state the obvious.

The female rolled her eyes at this answer and jerked her head to the bed. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" Now, Zelos could definitely see the answer to that question the moment it left her lips. A perverted thought had entered his mind the moment he came into this room and found one bed. If the summoner had been more concerned with her surroundings, she would have noticed that but again, she had let her guard down. Not caring any longer, he rolled on the other side and left his back open as well as his face hidden from her stare of a thousand daggers.

"On the other side of the bed, of course. What's the matter with that? It's just like taking a mud boat and I, the Great Zelos Wilder, will take you through." She glared at him harder, knowing that he was just amusing himself.

What made her even angrier was the fact he wasn't even facing her with his declaration of challenge between two good friends, fighting for a bed. Sometimes, she didn't know how she could stand his attitude! One minute, they were so involved in each other's thoughts and emotions and the next, they didn't even have eye contact! Remembering all their old fights, she still couldn't figure out how both of them were still in one piece and able to stand to by each other. Then again, it had always been like this.

Her hands curled in fists beside her curved hips as her legs stood firmly planted on the ground, slightly apart, while her flaring eyes stayed on the idiot. Angry lines spread over her forehead, as she refused to hold back her growing temper. "Don't use that phrase!" The Mizuho girl repeated herself for what felt like the millionth time. "Off the bed!"

Zelos was about to argue with this outburst when he suddenly found himself on the floor with Sheena on top of the bed, replacing him. Sheena glanced down warily at Zelos on the floor with a small wave of goodnight before throwing him her blanket. He snuggled into the blanket and tried to sleep.

The warmth of the blanket left Zelos in a better mood than before, however, the wooden floor on which he had to sleep on was hardly to his liking. Peering up at the ceiling, the dark atmosphere brought a small shiver to his thoughts about what lay ahead of him. Most of all, he could not get the image of his dead mother out of his thoughts. How her golden flowing hair would always flow against her shoulders and how her lips were of a perfect rosy color. Thinking of his mother, who kept on separating herself from him, he always went back to Sheena, who also showed him how much she detested his presence. Why did he come to the gorge anyway? Was it the fact that he longed for the feeling he wanted to share with his mother? He knew so little about his parents, especially his father.

Heaving one last sigh, he closed his eyes and hoped for a pleasant morning when he woke up. However, sleep wouldn't come although he tried every method he could to go to sleep, even counting sheep.

"You stupid Chosen…" He heard Sheena mumble above him before he got up to see if she was asleep or not. Indeed, she, herself, was not asleep either. Even in the darkness, he knew she was glaring at him at the moment. "You always make me feel guilty, don't you?" She asked out loud, pressing her crossed arms across her chest.

"Haha, I knew you had a conscience in you." Zelos smirked.

After Zelos lit a candle, he saw Sheena holding her arms, which were covered with goose bumps, securely. Gritting her teeth together to keep them from chattering, Sheena made an attempt to stop her unnecessary shaking. Now, he really questioned whether she was guilty at all or if it was just the fact that she was freezing. Sometimes, he really didn't understand what was going on with Sheena. He had seen her sad side like the time after Corrine died. He had seen her angry side nearly every day. He had seen her happy side like the time he promised he would find a way for her village to live in Tethe'alla. He had seen many sides of Sheena, and they were all wonderful to him. However, there were times he just did not understand her at all.

The summoner suddenly flinched. Zelos caught this and wrapped the blanket she left him around her. She mumbled, "thanks." He turned his head toward the wall next to their bed and saw the shadows of the two of them. An idea came to him. The former Chosen started making a shadow of a swan on the wall, which he found the girl next to him liked. He then made one of a small bunny.

Small thoughts bottled up inside Sheena, leaving her playful side on view.

"I never thought I'd say this but can you show me how?" Zelos sat closer to Sheena without an answer and gently placed her fingers into the correct positions. She could feel redness reaching her cheeks exactly at the same time their hands touched. Zelos felt his heart racing to feel her smooth, long fingers over his strong ones. Breathing heavily, he regretted the moment he had to let go. At last, he finished as she smiled brightly upon seeing her own bunny on the wall.

The two bunnies hopped side by side until Zelos muttered slowly, "My mother taught me this." Sheena dropped her hand and turned to see Zelos looking down again.

Sheena tilted her head innocently. "What's your mother like? You seem to love her a lot." Zelos was shocked to see that someone actually wanted to know about his own personal life.

Heaving his shoulders upwards and giving his arms a bit more freedom, he frowned to see the embarrassment she was leading him into.

"That's not true!" He replied quickly. "We didn't know each other that well… The Great Zelos don't go around thinking about his mother all day!" Sheena laughed at this fake response.

"That's what you always say." The lass told him with a small twitch to her graceful lips.

Zelos sighed, "I didn't lie completely. I really didn't know her that well. My father… I knew him even less."

"And yet, anything you knew about your mother or learned from her, you remembered so well. She drank black coffee, she wiped your face like any mother would have, and she showed you lots of different things." Zelos shook his head, remembering how observant Sheena always been. Of all people to observe his hastened moments of remembrance, it had to be Sheena! The one most likely to make fun of him later on.

Despite his thoughts of letting the girl take advantage of this, he really did want to tell someone this, he always had this burden on his shoulders ever since he was young. Moreover, from the glistering purple steel forming in her eyes, he loosened up and knew he must comply. She was just so convincing. "But after my father left my mother, she was never the same again. We lost contact at that point."

Half-expecting Sheena to make fun of his remarks, he was quite surprised by her comforting answer, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Zelos shook his head again. "You shouldn't be. I guess it was for the best, I grew independent and look at me now, don't you think it was all worthwhile?" The tense atmosphere they had lifted with his added remarks as Sheena laughed.

"Actually, maybe you would have been better off with your mother." She joked and heard a bunch of retorts from Zelos like "what" and "that hurts". In the end, Sheena said quietly, almost to a whisper, "At least you had parents who loved you…"

Zelos stopped his comments and turned to Sheena with curious orbs. "What did you just say, my violent banshee?" The guardian just shook her head like nothing had happened. She didn't want Zelos to know, but ever since she had returned back home to Mizuho, she wanted to know who her true parents were. They were really alike in a way, not knowing their parents too well. One day, Sheena promised herself, she would tell him. For now, it was best not to ruin his better mood with her past.

"Goodnight, Zelos." Sheena broke the silence and blew out the candles. He saw that she was lying on one side of the bed, hinting for him to go ahead and lay on the other. Zelos found Sheena and his mother alike in many ways, aside from the touch and the black coffee. Parting his curly strands of fiery hair with his quick hand, he sat down on his side of the bed and glanced at the Mizuho citizen for a few seconds, taking in her beauty that he adored. Her astounding looks left him with a good image of women when he first met her years ago, before he met any of the others beside the President or Duke Bryant. The way she breathed when she slept amused him greatly, it was as if she was adorned with a smooth kiss of beauty, leaving him with the impression of a perfect specimen of another human being. Of course, he reminded himself, she was behind him in the looks and talents departments.


Sheena was not the type of person who enjoyed waking up late in the morning, so close to the afternoon. How much she loathed sleeping until so late! Furthermore, the noisy steps of people outside her door before she was fully conscious were definitely a rude awakening in her books. The summoner took a wary glance to her side, finding her friend missing from his spot and finally rose up to a full awareness. The sunlight beaming into the room brightened her surroundings as well as her sight. It became evident to her how abashing it must be for her to still be sleeping while Zelos, who had lived in a mansion all his life, had awoken before she had. She decided it was best not to stay in bed even if it would have been pleasant to leave him waiting for her arrival.

After pulling on a pair of boots, she stopped midway on her way outside to bend down and examine her injury from the day before. She found it still there, it would have been sticking out if it wasn't for her boots, but more pleasing to the eye and wasn't half as bad as it had been the day before. For a moment, she laid her fingers on top of the red mark and felt a feeling of pain cut through her like a sharp knife. The thoughts of the day before when Zelos had his hands on her ankle made her suddenly feel uneasy and even nervous. When did she become so timid? Now that she had no use for weapons except for her training, she felt defenceless. If it weren't Zelos, someone she knew well, would she let another man be in his position at that precise time? Or was it the fact that she was growing weak from the peace the worlds gave her.

One thing that Sheena wished never to speak of in front of his face was the fact that she had actually wanted him to care for her like he did last evening. Daylight had been breaking through the mist of darkness for more hours than she could imagine and yet, here she stood and admired her healing skin. Hastening to make up for her lost time, she yanked her boots back on, having taken them off to examine her ankle. The twittering of the birds before the sun provided motivation for her to get herself out of the door.

After finding her way to where Zelos was standing, Sheena chose to remain silent and observe the male who was standing ever so still and staring off into the horizon at the sight of the sun moving over the hills. Desiring to move closer, Sheena grew timid and took a few steps forward, closing the gap between them. As Zelos continued to watch he thought about how his mother had lied to him. They were supposed to go hiking! Now there was only him left to remark upon the fragrance of the thin air at such high elevation and the adventure of absorbing the rays. His hatred grew with more thoughts of his father who chose to ignore him as if he was invisible.

Rolling his shoulders while muttering a curse, the male spotted the disappearing sun and caught the clouds forming overhead. Throughout all this, Sheena reached for his arm with shaking hands. Despite her intentions to remain unseen, she could only assume he would have spotted her presence by now. However she didn't dare hastened her pace.

Swallowing the pain in her throat, she spoke clearly, "Zelos, are we going to stay here all day or what?"

He flinched slightly, and she assumed he had heard her outburst. Zelos turned around to face her, confirming her assumption. Those blue orbs with a glint of white light observed her from top to bottom, as if he was meeting her for the first time, and nodded to show a sign of acknowledgement.

"Only if you want me to," Zelos replied in a seductive tone with an addition of a small smirk on his lips and an elevation of his brow. Claiming her attention, he drew her into his spell with the simple words he had spoken.

This reply disarmed Sheena completely and prompted a plethora of angry responses.

"Stop fooling around!" she snapped. All of a sudden, Sheena stopped and smiled. If it weren't for the fact that he was completely back to normal, she wouldn't have lowered herself to be glad of his words. "I already got what I want."

With a puzzled face, the former Chosen took a step toward her. "And what would that happen to be, my violent banshee?"

Ignoring his crude remarks for now, the summoner walked around him and glanced at him from top to bottom while keeping her expression utterly defined by his question. "Just a Casanova I know."

Zelos casually smiled at her little observations like he was a fine experiment to be explored. If she were a typical girl he had picked up from the streets, he would have been explored. How much he loved being himself again! But he must admit, most of the credit had to go to this delicate creature beside him for returning him to a firm and confident mood again. Yesterday, all the time he had spent with her was worthwhile, lifting his mood instantly. There was, fortunately, some time left before he must depart from her and he hoped to make good use of this time. How long had it been since he last met her anyways? Probably four years at least, and he wasn't going to make her leave in a bad temper.

"My violent banshee... you shouldn't judge me too harshly since you haven't changed one bit either," Zelos sneered, making Sheena furious and causing her to begin a tapping rhythm with her foot again.

"How nice of you to point out!" Sheena retorted, her tone emphasizing the word 'nice'.

She moved her eyes away from the man, who was giving her a probing gaze, and she was expecting him to say something in reply. Considering all the conversations that they had had before, Zelos could hardly control himself from continuing another of their arguments. Seriously, he never got over the fact of how much he loved to tease this summoner! Considering his mood, right now, though, he didn't feel like giving in to his temptations like he had done before. Probably it was also the fact that the two of them had grown too old for their own good. Four years sure had made a difference to both of them.

"It's getting late," Zelos turned his head away from her view, "we'd better get moving."

Then he rose and stepped away from her side as she felt herself pause in suspicion at his strange words that were still ringing in her ears. She had expected something else, something less pleasant but he had given her a respite. The words still dazzled her since they seemed so unreal compared to what she was used to hearing. She found she had little time to deal with these unexpected moods he kept throwing at her and spent the remainder of her energy and concentration to chase after him.

Zelos decided to take a "short-cut" down the gorge and, unexpectedly, she did not protest. She wanted to get back to safe ground and away from all the slopes, leaving her with no reason to argue with his suggestions. Even so, she could not keep her thickly lashed violet eyes off his moving figure in front of her. In an effort to redirect her thoughts to something less humiliating than staring at Zelos all day, she sought to turn her memories to those old childhood memories she treasured so dearly. In guiding her flashback to a recent one, she could not concentrate when the idea that her real parents had taken no part in any of it invaded her thoughts. This thought pained her dearly and she opened her eyes to get the unpleasant thoughts out of her head.

Panting severely for a few seconds, the former Chosen was startled by her sudden reaction as he turned his head from side to side as if expecting some viper to scare the young woman when he turned his back to her. "Nervous, my beloved hunny?"

Shaking her head at his question, Sheena swept a quick hand over her pounding heart. "N-nothing."

Zelos raised an eyebrow, he did not believe her answer, but he shrugged. What could he do? Just as swiftly as he turned around, a tense feeling built up in the depths of his pride. What had caused him to become such a loser? Caring for other people! The Zelos of the past would have spoken nothing like the way he was about to speak.

"Sheena... can you be honest with me for once?" The words came tumbling out before he could stop himself. It was hard for him to say such caring words to another person, especially one he felt such a great attraction towards. The way he showed attraction for someone else was by teasing, and Sheena might not have caught onto that fact yet.

"I really want to but..." Sheena hesitated. "This something I would like to keep private for now, if that's okay with you." The summoner carefully chose her the words, trying not to offend Zelos in any way.

From the expression on the redhead's face, she knew she had done a good job in accomplishing that task. He had managed not to grow curious at the secrets behind the woman's back without her approval. He knew better than to mess with a girl who had been panting moments ago without any logical reason for doing so. Surely, it's not fatigue.

"I'm just trying my best to help you. If you don't want to, then that's fine with me. It's none of my business anyway." Zelos knew by saying those words, he was really lying to himself since he was really interested in her private life.

Sheena saw right through his masquerade and heard the lie behind those words. "And today, the sun rises in the east."

A small smirk appeared on Zelos's face when he heard those words. "Actually, my voluptuous hunny, today is not the day when the sun rises in the east but the day after the spring and autumn equinox. You, my banshee, should know that."

Her burning cheeks gave him the pleasure of being right for now before her next outburst. "You're just making that up!"

Somehow, it flattered him to hear her say that. After he had checked over the notes all his hunnies had taken for him during his school days, a few days before setting out to go hiking, he was fully aware of what he just said and hadn't made the information up. Though he couldn't have been happier that he had found such a valuable piece of information to contradict Sheena with, and the moment of being right seemed something to be treasured to him. This was because Sheena was always right. "Sorry to disappoint you."

All Sheena could manage in way of reply was to dismiss her comment. "It was just an expression, you don't have to be so serious all of a sudden!"

A deepening burn appeared on Sheena's cheeks, caused by Zelos leaning towards her slightly and commanding her full attention to be drawn to his dazzling blue marbles. The former Chosen stared directly into her widened eyes and breathed his answer dangerously, "I thought you liked a serious man."

Her breath came slowly and her legs shook beneath her, Sheena gulped and pulled herself together into a position she was easier with. The position where she found she could get some air without any idiot Chosen blocking the way. Sheena waved her hand in dismissal of his suggestions or intentions. Desiring to not face Zelos directly, Sheena set her mind to another subject.

"Zelos, has anyone ever told you how sad your figure looks whenever your back is shown?" She changed the subject completely.

"Not to my knowledge." Zelos rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Just to let you know." Sheena said with a grin, now taking the lead as Zelos skipped to catch up to her. It was one of his precious privileges to be the leader and he wasn't going to let Sheena ruin it for him, no matter how striking she looked.


As the two of them walked along the slopes of the grassy hillside, luck was not at all on their side as raindrops startled to splash onto their clothes once more. Although both of them were not at all surprised at the sudden change of weather since it was that time of the year when rain would just suddenly come pouring down unexpectedly even when it had been sunny that morning. Sheena remembered the last time it had rained so much in two days that she had concluded that she would never ever walk outside during those days again after she'd spent a week with fever in bed. A shower, a much-needed summer one, had started as the two sprinted to the nearest shelter.

The place they finally ended up in was very familiar to the Mizuho native; for this was the place she had fallen after trying to assassinate Colette for the first time. A brief glimpse around the place brought a little shiver to Sheena's spine, falling down a pit wasn't actually an experience she wanted to remember. Zelos urged her to enter the shelter before the two of them became soaked from top to bottom again. Her only answer was a sour look for it greatly pleased her to disobey his orders, or anything else he said, before walking in. Of course, Sheena mentally groaned to need shelter from this place again.

Sheena stood there for what felt like forever, trying her hardest not to peer up at the male to her right. Once they reached the bottom of the slopes, she would have to say good-bye to him and somehow, this was the last thing she wanted to do. She was unconscious of her needs before, but she really did miss talking to someone who could make her mad or glad. During the last two years in which she had gone on with her life through training to be a ninja clan leader, she missed her conversations with the group of eight travelling companions. The way they would notice her little frowns or her little smiles had been touching. How much she missed those days!

Staring out into the distance, the raindrops splattered on the grass and into Zelos's memory. The last time he remembered the droplets falling from the heavens so suddenly was from a few years back when he met a certain young lady under the same shelter he was in now near the bridge in Tethe'alla. Gazing directly at Sheena, who at that time wasn't paying attention to him, he knew that lady was right here, next to him. How fate messes with one's head!


Darting to the nearest tent on the side of the bridge, the Chosen of Tethe'alla wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and was amazed by his quick escape from the drizzle. Sighing with his good fortune, he knew he would be late to Sybak today because of the unexpected weather. It had rained yesterday too! He hadn't bothered to bring his umbrella this morning; it had been as sunny as any summer's day. The researchers had said that he must be there on time today, for he was a slacker when it came to punctuality.

Smoothing out his fiery hair with his fingers, he was trying to untangle some loose ends when he heard swift splashing coming toward him. He lifted his eyes and met a girl, around his age or younger, with slick purple hair tied up behind her head, letting her hair spread out like a fan. The young girl was trying to smooth her clothes removing some wrinkles left behind from the rain and her fast run. The female's violet eyes flared with fiery indignation when she saw him observing her from top to bottom.

"What do you want?" She asked, impatiently.

"Oh, beautiful maiden, have we met before?" Zelos asked with a small bowing gesture.

"I don't think so. For if I had, I would remember you." The girl answered, rolling her eyes in irritation.

No matter how many times he had hit on a girl, he had found this one quite interesting, more so than any other and he wondered if his search for love might finally come to an end. "Raindrops are like tears aren't they?"


"Raindrops are like tears, aren't they?" Sheena asked, tilting her face to meet his. Zelos sharply came back to reality and realized what he had barely heard, adding a small innocent twitch to his smile.

"You remembered, my hunny." Zelos commented and got the same gesture as before.

Sheena couldn't help but be upset by his nicknames for her. Why didn't he do that with the other girls around him? They didn't get nicknames like violent banshee or voluptuous hunny. Stepping back a step from her current position, she flicked the "do-not-call-me-that" look and he, in turn, ran over and caught her arm playfully. She jumped in surprise and sprinted deeper into the underground environment, hoping to lose track of the male. Much to her delight, he was nowhere in sight or at least, for the next few minutes before he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. His embrace made her catch her breath in quick snatches and then she quickly struggled out of his arms and ran in the opposite direction to lose him again.

By the time they had finished their chase, Sheena was at the edge of the entrance and saw the sky was bright and clear. The downpour had cleared up. Soon after they had departed again, the Mizuho citizen immediately saw the herb she was looking for and dashed towards it, going uphill once again. By the time Zelos got his eyes adjusted to the new light of the sun, Sheena was already too far up the slope for him to catch up with in five minutes. This was going to be a problem since he was to be needed by her within five minutes time. The next thing he heard was a dim shriek. His heart thumped loudly and rapidly as he tried to close the gap between them.

Hot blood surged through his veins when he caught sight of the serpent, a different one apparently. The snake was of an icky green color, hissing and twisting as it moved on its stomach towards the girl. The reptile's yellow eyes were fixed on her and its head shot forward, causing Sheena to let out a frightened scream. Shuddering, she struggled to reach her deck of cards in her clothes and hated herself for not bringing them with her. Sure, there were no more monsters but there were still snakes! She was clasping her right hand tightly over the top part of her left arm, feeling something dripping down the sleeve of her clothes and into her gloves. The heavy trickle of blood spilled all the way down to her fingertips.

Zelos shouted her name in an anxious tone when he saw her sprawled helplessly on the ground while the snake tried to make a jump towards her. The male stomped his foot on the ground, getting the snake's attention as its small head turned to face him. It turned abruptly and made its way toward Zelos. With the snake striking towards him now, he leaped out of the way and carefully took out a dagger. The viper continued to eye him with hunger, trying to find a weak spot to sink its fangs into his skin. Before it found a suitable spot, Zelos made a dash towards it and brought the blade down into its skull and pinned its entire body to the ground. Its scaly body stopped moving. Zelos let out a sign of relief before he set his eyes on the unnerved lass, who was still trembling.

Sheena's breath eased with relief when she saw Zelos coming towards her. What struck Zelos as kind of funny was that Sheena must have forgotten her cards for she would have sent the reptile on its way if she had had them with her. The actions he performed for her surprised him since he hadn't touched his dagger or any of his swords for years. The skills he used on that creature brought him some pride because he hadn't forgotten them. Grinning, he mentally reminded himself that it was just a snake he had killed and that shouldn't give him too much pride. Even so, he was quite happy with himself and for Sheena's sake as well. Though, he was totally amazed at how worried he was when he thought Sheena was in some sort of danger.

Clutching one hand to her beating heart and the other to her arm, Sheena chewed her lip as she eyed the former Chosen walking towards her. Nervously Sheena continued to sit still there with no words to reply to his stare with. An abundance of emotions swept over Sheena for she was not as strong as she used to be and the pain in her left arm distressed her.

Pausing beside his friend, Zelos saw the blotch of red on Sheena's sleeve and noticed two small dots there as well. Liquid continued to drip from Sheena's slender fingers, making Sheena very pale and Zelos very upset. Without asking for permission, he lunged towards her and pulled her dark purple gloves off. She was still silent and violently shaking. Awkwardly, he ripped her sleeve off and saw that those two small dots that he had seen earlier were actually marks left by snake fangs. This was the second time Sheena had been caught off-guard with the viper and Zelos knew this was the worst case ever.

With no other option available to him, he took a deep breath and placed his soft lips onto her skin. This caused Sheena to jump. She was not expecting him to do this at all. Sheena raised her gaze hesitantly to where Zelos was, and where his eyes were focused on the spot where the snake had bitten her. She felt she should say something but she could not find her voice to say anything at all. Zelos took a deep breath before sucking some blood from her and spitting it into the grass next to him. Her skin against his lips was as soft and silky as he had imagined it would be. In addition to that, it was sweet to taste as well. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would have enjoyed this moment.

The moment dragged on with Sheena watching the man and Zelos using his mouth to remove the poison from her arm. She was grateful for what he did but at the same time was worried. Fully remembering what her Grandpa told her, he shouldn't be doing this because the poison could affect him as well. The sympathy in Sheena's amethyst orbs was obvious when Zelos finally finished his task and looked up at her. The silence continued.

However, one of them was determined to break it.

"My violent banshee, you sure attract snakes!" Zelos joked. Sheena was not in the mood for his remarks.

"It's obvious that I am damp from the rain... that attracts them." She stopped as he wrapped his red handkerchief over the spot where she had been bitten. Heaving a shaky sigh, Sheena noticed for the first time that Zelos was the one getting pale and his lips were touched with a blue hue. "Zelos, are you okay?"

Zelos laughed slowly. "Of course, a little poison won't slow me down!"

Contradicting what he had said, his eyelids started to droop and he felt like heaven was descending upon him, taking him away from this world and bringing him to a better place until Sheena shook him hard and made him look directly at her.

"Zelos, can you hear me?" She inquired, her tone full of concern.

Zelos waved drowsily and replied, "Sure, sure, my voluptuous hunny..." His voice was so soft and unreal. That was when he drifted from consciousness completely.


Gazing at his mother's steady form, Zelos had never seen his mother so depressed before. Her eyes were as red as his hair and her shaking hand was held tight to her sleeve. The sound of the squeaking door accompanied the harsh wind that travelled indoors, but what was worst was that his father was gone. His mother seemed distant and didn't even close the open door. It was as if everything around her was of no importance and all she wanted was for his father to stop his walk in a halt and return to them with open arms. This did not happen however. The man continued his walk in the open rain, never looking back at the mother or the son.

Zelos finally found the courage to make his way through the hall and closed the door to stop the wind that was freezing him. Breathing a sigh of grief, the boy could make out how crushed his mother was to receive this news of his father's departure. He saw the way his father looked at his mother, with no love or kindness, but he never imagined his father would leave his mother to take care of him by herself! With a low moan of sadness, his mother walked away from him and into her room, going up the steps. The way she moved as she climbed, she had such a graceful elegance about her that he would have thought of her as a lady.

Outside the room, Zelos silently opened and peeked in the door. His mother stood in front of her window, staring after his father still.

"Will I ever arise from this dark abyss? Where the goddess took me to roam in the kingdom of loneliness and dusk. Will the sun ever return after this long eclipse?" His mother whispered out the song to no one in particular.

"How many times I heard her voice. In the twilight I heard her song. She fell in tears." His mother paused. Zelos didn't dare breathe or move. He knew this song well. It was the song his father sang to himself whenever he stayed up late. "I'm a prisoner, a leaf caught in a whirlwind. Leave me alone! O dark voice of a fatal hate and endless pain! How many times I asked my blade to save me from these chains?"

"How many times I heard her voice. In the twilight I heard her song. She fell in tears." Zelos was curious as to who this 'she' was since it was not his mother. It was another woman, but who could it be?

"Why did you foolish men leave her secrets buried in the heart? Why did you call her loser and liar?" His mother wiped her dampened cheeks with her red handkerchief and tried hard to control her tears. "How many times I heard her voice. In the twilight I heard her song. She fell in tears."

The boy couldn't take it anymore and ran down the stairs.


The cutting noise caused the male of noble upbringing to wake up with an annoyed shake of his head. By the light coming from the entrance, it was a late hour, indeed, before Zelos fully realized how long he had lain on the ground, and became completely alert to what actions Sheena was taking right now. It seemed she hadn't left him alone and had stayed with him the entire time he was unconscious. By slow degrees, he pulled himself up to a standing position and received the attention of the one who took care of him.

For a time, all the two did was stare at one another, neither willing to speak first. Sheena found it better to continue her work and took her attention somewhere else. Zelos clasped his hands together and tried to recall what happened before he had lost consciousness. Although, the memory was blurry, he could still recall Sheena turning pale from the poisonous venom of the snake that had bitten her and he, who at the time was out of his mind, helped her. Why would he do something like that? That was the main question swirling inside his head. He had been arrogant and selfish for as long as he could remember. When Sheena needed him, he was right there to help her. He couldn't understand his own concepts of "helping". Why had he endangered himself like that?

Sheena stopped cutting and hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds before singing softly, "How many times I heard her voice. In the twilight I heard her song. She fell in tears."

When Zelos heard those particular lyrics from his father or mother's song, he jumped and moved swiftly toward the summoner, who was still singing the next line. Zelos grabbed hold of her arm tightly and jerked her body to face him. His body was so close to her that it made her quite nervous along with his touch. This caused her to heave a gasp as well. His teary vision blinded him from the sight of Sheena and his mother took her place. The vision of that night his father left him flashed before his eyes, remembering that song. That symphony of loss and despair, dedicated to Seles's mother, was played once more. Nothing held him back and all he could do was hold her arm, hoping for something to happen. Nothing happened. His mother was gone, his father was gone, Seles's mother was gone, everyone was gone and nothing could bring them back.

Amazed by his harshness and sudden gaze, Sheena watched at him closely and noticed the teary brightness in those blue marbles but she hurriedly stepped away in a long awkward silence. There was something about him that scared her but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Hoping he hadn't disturbed her with that sudden gesture, Zelos looked away in embarrassment and spoke quickly to distract the attention from that situation. "Sorry, thanks for keeping me company," he mumbled under his breath.

Sheena nodded and took no notice of the fact that her jaw was still dropped in reaction to his earlier action. Zelos saw this and used his index finger to lift her jaw into place, causing some redness to form on her cheeks. After this, Sheena answered indifferently, "No problem. I guess the herb worked after all."

This really caught Zelos's curiosity. "Herb?"

Sheena directed his attention to the leaves in her hands by lifting them up. "I went to the gorge to get this herb after asking the Elder at Heimdall about it on behalf of the villagers of Mizuho. It cures poison, and some illnesses."

Zelos grabbed one of the delicate leaves into his hand and peered at it with interest. He turned it from back and forth, considering the fact that this herb had saved him from the poison he caught earlier from saving Sheena. "Then... your villagers..." When Zelos started talking, Sheena slowly shifted her head away.

"I already thought about that. When I saw the herb, I knew others had been picked so I would assume Orochi got the rest for our village. No need to worry." Sheena reassured him, knowing what he was thinking. Zelos let out a sigh of relief to hear this. He didn't want to be responsible for the death of her village or anything.

"I know you're behind because of me. We should really get out of here already before your boyfriend comes looking for you." Zelos said with a small smirk on his lips, which were a dark red once more.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sheena shrieked, gripping her hands across her chest to her arms.

"Whatever you say, my violent banshee."

Sheena followed Zelos towards the door, wondering if there was still anything hidden between the two of them since he had grabbed her seconds ago without giving her any warning. And what about those tears she saw in those eyes? He seemed distracted now so she thought it better not to ask. It had been some time since they'd been together and that made Sheena feel ashamed for not saying this earlier.

"Zelos!" she called out.

Pausing at the entrance, Zelos came to a halt and turned around. "Something wrong, my voluptuous hunny? Not another snake, is it?"

Ignoring his question, Sheena caught up to him and stared up into those amazing ocean coloured orbs. She never thought she would be sincere to Zelos, even years from now, but she felt she owed it to him. "Thanks for saving me earlier. I owe you my gratitude."

Behind a quick smile, Zelos breathed a sign of relief. "Is that all? The way you were acting, I thought you needed something else!"

Sheena managed to laugh after all this time, hiding her amazement. "No crude remarks?"

Zelos responded with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll get back to my old self in no time. For some reason, I think there is still some poison stuck in my brain somewhere..."

Poking a finger to his chest, Sheena smiled. "Idiot. Poison doesn't go to your brain, not any kind that I know of anyways."

Zelos feigned innocence with a small frown of his own. "Hunny, can't you let me be smart again? Or brave? Just for today?" Sheena thought he was actually pleading with her in his special way. Yet she was glad he was back to normal and this was clearly the case from his behaviour right now.

Catching a glimpse at Orochi standing just a short distance away from them, Sheena knew it was about time that she ought to be getting back to Tethe'alla. In her heart, she knew she would miss the former Chosen dearly after today. She couldn't help but remember those single moments of caring he gave her when he wiped her ankle or sucked the poison out of her arm. Thankful for such a journey in the gorge, she smiled brightly.

They continued walking in silence. Zelos shot Sheena another pleading glance along with a whining whimper.

Sheena sighed, "Okay, just for today, my hero."


Ending Notes: Yay, I finished the first chapter of this fic! I never start to write a fic with no clue where in the world it's going, so like always, I will tell you how many chapters this will be. It's going to be… five chapters. Pretty short huh? Well, this fic is a bit of a writing exercise to help me maintain my so-called "writing mood". Just thought I'd try it out and see what you guys think. I'll update this once in a while to help my "writing mood". One last thing, like I said before, I worked really hard on this with check-ups and frequent rewrites so hopefully, you'll leave a review right? Sis Samuu (love ya!) also worked extremely hard on beta-reading this chapter a lot too. You'll give us credit right? Just a simple review. No review, no cookie. I haven't got a single flame in the ToS section, so you want to be my first, you're welcome to do so. I would merely ignore the ignorance of it all okay? Thanks!

Few Explanations: This is post-game fic (like many other multi-fics) and the world is really at peace, so there will NOT be any fighting scenes. The snake scenes were probably the closest to a fighting scene. There will not be any monsters/enemies involve and most inhabitants never touch their weapons again. Sheena doesn't even carry her deck of cards around anymore. This fic is dealing with the love between a man and a woman, but a big emphasize on family love as well (Hint: Mylene). There will not be really any type of "game crisis", but further involve in others like human emotions. Moreover, the other seven characters of the group will not be in the storyline. But there will be references. I'm sorry if Sheena was a bit OOC but she is human and she must be afraid of something right? It's just the same with spiders and me. Last thing, for all of you who read my fics, you might have already caught on to this but I love writing the more serious side of Zelos than the other one... just thought I should mention that.

Questions: When in the world am I going to update Insights? Hiatus… really sorry! How about ASL (A Separate Link)? Soon… I hope. Just lacking motivation! May you write my name in the Sheelos Lovers list? Of course, as long as you have an account or in other words, no anonymous. Sorry. Joining the Sheelos Community? I was easy on it before but now, as long as you love Sheelos and have at least, one fic on it, ask me and I'll send you a verifying note to join. Don't sweat, current staff members, I won't kick you out.