I…really have no idea how I came up with this owo;; It was originally supposed to be an Ion x Anise entry for a contest on Gaia (which I was to lazy to finish it for Dx) as well as for a friend of mine who desperately wanted to see an Ion x Anise on but for some strange reason, it ended up being a Sync x Anise xD; Well, I hope you enjoy despite the odd pairing.

Something To Live For

A white-gloved hand removed itself from the old brass doorknob of the Chesedonia bar, now taking its place on its owner's hip as she pouted in the darkness, tapping right foot in annoyance. "The Colonel's such a meanie." The former Fon Master Guardian said as her dark pigtails swayed in the cool night as she went down the creaky wooden steps into the dusty street. There wasn't a soul in sight at this hour and not a sound was heard besides the sand below being blown across the city and her own footsteps. Deciding there weren't many things left to kill her time, she decided to call it a night and head for the inn while letting her thoughts wander to the day ahead.

Tomorrow was the day that they were going to finally settle things with Van and his idea of a replica world, as well as free Lorelei from his body. The idea frightened the young girl. The commandant was strong, no doubt about that, but the remaining God Generals were waiting for them as well. Then there was the issue of Asch and Luke, who were probably going to end the ongoing battle between them. This worried the young girl, as she didn't want to lose anyone else important to her like when she lost him. The very thought resurrected painful memories she had tried to keep in the back of her mind.

"Ion…" She whispered to the wind, "I'm so sorry. If only I hadn't betrayed you…you'd be here by my side with that smile of yours…"

The sudden sound of movement somewhere nearby ceased her daze, her training as a Fon Master Guardian hadn't gone to waste. "Who's there?" She called out, hoping it was one of her comrades and not one of her enemies. Turning around sharply just as the figure landed on the sand with a soft thump, she gasped as her chocolate-colored eyes met with those of a familiar jade. 'But Ion's dead…then it has to be…'

"Sync." The brunette seethed, how dare he show his face, especially after his cruel impersonation from before. She put one hand on Tokunaga, ready to let him take full form in case of an attack, "What are you doing here?"

Sync the Tempest let out an amused huff as he watched her. "Anise, what's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me?" He mimicked perfectly earning a glare that could melt ice.

"Answer the question!" Not falling for the same trick twice, she appeared on her giant doll a moment later. "Or do you want me to beat it out of you instead?"

"Put away your weapon, I'm not here to fight." He replied simply, waving his right hand for emphasis, "Besides, you wouldn't be able to win against me on your own

anyway. Or have you forgotten I have the same powers as the Fon Master like your precious Ion replica?"

Thinking about his words, she hesitantly hopped off Tokunaga who minimized and took his place on her back once more. It was probably true, without the rest of the group, the chance of her defeating the God General alone was slim. Her eyes sharpened. "Well are you going to answer?" She said, eyeing the boy in front of her trying to find any signs of suspicion.

"Ever think that I'm here because I want to be?" He sneered, looking her in the eye with a sly grin. "What about you? Isn't it past your bed time, little girl?"

"I am NOT little!" She shot back. If there was one thing that drove her insane, it had to be people making fun of her age. For her age, she considered herself incredibly mature…For the most part. Sort of. More or less. Noticing the amused look on his face, Anise decided to try to keep her composure. There was no way he was going to get under her skin that easily.

"Are you going to answer?" The green-haired boy mocked in hopes of getting another outburst. Getting not a response but a rather contemplative look, his eyes rolled as he added, "Oh brother, don't tell me you're still thinking of the Fon Master replica."

"I…well…" Anise didn't want to say yes, even though it was horribly obvious that she had been. She thought about a witty retort, but found none. Her mouth formed a frown, hoping she didn't look pathetic.

"Not just you, Arietta too, and everyone else…" He began, eyes looking like they could melt the fine grains beneath him and turning them into the smoothest glass, "All you talk about is him. Everyone always cared about him…"

"That's it?" The former Fon Master Guardian said, "That's the whole reason you hated him? Unlike you, Ion took a better path! That's the whole reason why he met everyone and gained our friendship and trust. You on the other hand, joined the commandant and followed his twisted plot. If you hadn't gone with him and lead a normal life-"

"Shut up!" Sync yelled, causing the girl's eyes to widen at his sudden outburst.

"The seventh Ion didn't choose it, his power was just closest to the original's. Us trash on the other hand," He clenched his teeth. "Were thrown away, not a proper substitute, not meant to see the face of this planet."

Anise opened her mouth to say something but found herself stopping as she looked into the God General's eyes. Although the same shade as Ion's, Sync's gaze was sharp enough to pierce into her. Why though, was the question that lingered in her mind. Is was as if his eyes were faded and worn, like someone who had been through a number of hardships. Although haunted by sorrow and loneliness, there was something else there. A glint of the one thing that kept him going. But what exactly was it?

"That's not true." She whispered as she stared him right in the eyes. "It's not! You just have the stupid idea that no one would ever care about you stuck in your head! If you had chosen to live a normal life instead of being used by the commandant to eradicate everything on the planet, then-"

"Don't you get it!?" The God General interrupted harshly, sick and tired of her preaching. "I don't care if I'm being used…by Van or anyone else. I have no attachment to them whatsoever."

His emerald eyes showed no life as his mouth twisted into a sad grin, a mask over the sorrow that had built up in his hollow figure over the years. "I don't care if I'm being used, as long as I have a purpose in this damn world."

"Purpose?" The brunette questioned, not quite understanding what it was that he meant. A slight breeze blew by as she waited for his answer.

"Yes, a purpose." He replied, looking down as if in some sort of pain. "I was never supposed to have been born."

Hands fisting and causing the fabric of his gloves to stretch a tad, Sync clenched his teeth before giving another twisted smile and continuing, "So as long as I'm here, I'd better do what I can before I'm eradicated along with everything else on this planet."

"Shut up!" The pigtailed girl interrupted, having heard enough of him wallowing in his sorrow, "You don't think that you've-"

"What do you know!?" He countered sharply, stopping her. "You're not a replica like me! You actually have a past, a family, an actual existence! It wouldn't make a difference if I died, no one would-"

Her hand stopped his words, colliding with his face in an audible smack. Silence followed, the two of them standing face to face, one fuming, the other bringing his hand to the red imprint on his cheek.

"You honestly think," Anise began, eyes full of fury. "That your death wouldn't matter!?"

He looked at her blankly, locked in place like a king upon a chessboard awaiting his impending demise. The God General could only stand there speechless, hand still on the side of his face. It was an odd feeling, he, who was accustomed to battle, had been hit far harder in combat…but her slap had hurt. It wasn't like any battle wound he'd experienced while fighting. No one had struck him like that…ever. He couldn't believe he was having this much trouble processing the fact that a single, thirteen-year-old had struck him when he'd never had a hard time dealing with all the battle wounds he had suffered through or being thrown into the Mt. Zaleho Volcano. Why was this so different?

"Well it would matter to me…" She breathed, blinking furiously in order to stop her eyes from glazing over. "It would matter to me!"

Anise gripped the collar of his white jacket as he stood still, eyes locked. "I don't want to se Ion die again! So you can't…" She stopped a moment to hide her uneven breathing. "You can't die!"

She let go and turned, heels digging into the sand as she wiped her eyes with her back to the green-haired boy. The brunette refused to show any signs of weakness in front of him. "I'll never forgive you if you do."

Forbidding herself to look back, she started in the direction of the inn. Displaying emotional weakness was something the late Fon Master Guardian hated doing, having a reputation to keep. She would probably stop in front of one of the shops on her way and check her image in one of the shields or suits of armor in order to make sure she looked 'normal.'

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt something land on her shoulder. Whipping around, the was surprised to find the Tempest's face hovering dangerously close to hers, expression unreadable. Her mouth opened to yell in confusion, "What are you-!"

Her eyes widened as Sync stopped her in mid sentence, pressing his lips against her own and wrapping his arm around her small figure. The girl's mind was spinning. 'He's an enemy! Push him away!' it screamed, but her body refused to move. All rational thoughts had left her as she closed her eyes and melted in his embrace. Time was standing still around them and everything else didn't matter.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled away and without a word, turned and began to walk towards the southern part of the city. Anise stood there, bewildered when a sudden fact ran through her mind, sending her into a rush of consciousness…

"Sync! That was my first kiss!" She yelled, cheeks turning a shade of red setting off after him. The God General turned and smirked, taking that as his cue to run.

Using fancy footwork to jump onto the roof of a nearby building, Sync leaped from rooftop to rooftop, leaving the brunette in his dust.

Running into a dead end, Anise huffed and crossed her arms in annoyance. Her eyes shifted from the wall to her left to the one on her right as she brought her fingertips slowly to her lips, thinking about what had just happened. His lips had been softer than expected, and it was so…

Her hand jerked back into place. 'No! I didn't like it, I didn't!' The former Guardian's mind yelled as she decided to stop thinking about the whole thing. Which incidentally made her think about it more.

"Ohhh!" She pouted, kicking a rusty can aside to calm her nerves. That, of course, didn't work either. "I'm gonna pummel you the next time we meet, just you wait!" She yelled to no one in particular, still a brilliant shade of crimson.

:x:x:x:

Unseen and hidden by the darkness, Sync the Tempest watched the girl in amusement as he stood atop a building, grinning like a fool. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight, full of life. Why had he done it? He didn't know. Maybe it was because now, he had something to live for…if only for a little bit longer.

He did know one thing though, and that was that the seventh Ion had been right. 'She does look damn cute when she's mad.'

Fin.

Hahahaa .. Well, I hope you liked it. Oh what my mind can think of at 3:00 AM xD;

Reviews are very much appreciated, so if you have the time, please click that little box below :'D