Title: The Threads Tighten Around Us

Author: NexustehULF0o

Description: As one sews, two threads, once independent and separated from the other, slowly bond together to create a beautiful cloth…the game of love is none too different. Sheelos.

Rating: T just for safety – you never know what Zelos is going to come up with next.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TALES OF SYMPHONIA. Believe me, I spend countless hours and days wishing on countless stars that I'll wake up and it'll be mine so I can rewrite it the way I want it. :D

Nexus: So, I watched the Princess and the Frog. Yeah, Disney movie, past the whole "have no life, hopeless romantic" thing - every Sheelos fan should watch that movie and the come back and tell me what you think of the characters. :3 ~Sheena Fujibayashi and I were talking about it and I said I felt inspired to write a multi-chaptered deal. :D So here it is. Forgive me/bug me if I go into lapses, but I'll try really hard to keep up with this. Enjoy~

~Chapter One~

"It's a wonder you let me do anything with you. I didn't know you had taken on a new, more pacifistic leaf." The redhead Chosen poked his nose in through the ninja's wandering thoughts, causing her to shake her head to quickly comprehend and conjure a response to the statement.

"Stop it." She muttered before looking downward, gasping, and unintentionally grasping the Chosen's waist a little tighter. "I have to be strong for my people, so I can't take ridicule easily. Especially from you."

"I mean, I wasn't ridiculing you." Zelos mused, causing his companion to roll her eyes. "In fact, I don't think I was being any more particularly annoying than I've ever been."

The expression on the ninja's face was so drolly accusing it nearly sent the Chosen into a fit of gut-wrenching laughter.

"All right, all right, I get it – just don't stare a hole through the back o' my head, mkay?" He smirked, returning his vision to the open air in front of them both. Sheena turned her head away, nervously biting her bottom lip as she returned her gaze downward once more.

"So, why'd you go to see the King today anyway…?" The Chosen once again attempted slipped conversation into their Rheiard ride, causing Sheena to slow down even more in the process of catching her train of thought, which was barreling down the tracks at an amazing speed.

"It's a long story." She mumbled, glancing up at him.

"We won't be there for a while." He suggested, possibly making telling the story seem more enticing than having him bug her about it the entire ride back.

Sheena merely sighed.

"All right…" She mumbled, adjusting her position on the Rheiard's meant-for-one places for feet.

"Chief!"

The word was called, but no one answered.

A bamboo door slid its way open, quietly hitting the stopper afterward. A man clad in a blue ninja uniform entered, taking off his boots before doing so.

"Chief. Permission to enter your quarters." He said sternly, standing erect in the air.

"You can come in, Orochi. Grandfather's not here." A voice called from the other side of a thin wall, also made from tan bamboo.

Orochi smiled, stepping into the room where Sheena Fujibayashi sat, looking over a fair-sized about of parchment. She looked up upon his entry, smirking at her comrade.

"Actually, I was referring to you." He mumbled through chuckles.

Sheena shook her head, returning her gaze to the papers she had stacked in front of her.

"Would you stop that? You know I'm not the Chief yet. There's still the formal ceremony and…and you know, all that stuff."

Orochi chuckled. "Merely one more thing to get used to, Sheena." He mentioned, watching the female roll her brown eyes at him.

"I guess so." She snickered as well, shaking her head before sighing the idle chatter away. It was quiet for a moment, the blue-clad ninja cocking his head to watch his childhood friend curiously.

"Sheena, is something troubling you…?" he queried, placing both hands in his lap. The female quickly glanced up, as if mentally wondering how he could have known. She then shifted her head away, returning her gaze to the floor.

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing." She mumbled, twiddling her thumbs in her own lap.

"…All right."

Orochi donned a knowing look, watching Sheena from the corner of his eye and mentally counting down until she relinquished her problem. She wasn't good at holding in her internal pain anymore.

"Well, it's just that…I overheard some of the people talking." She mumbled, unconfident. She twirled little patterns in a little hill of dirt someone had tracked in with her pinky finger, staring at said patterns intently as if it would tell her the secret of the world. She glanced up at Orochi, only to quickly return her vision downward when she saw he was watching her.

"Who?" He asked politely, leaning slightly forward.

"N-no one of any concern!" She stammered loudly while waving her hands in front of her. "The point is that they were talking. About me." She mumbled, returning to her depressed state. "Orochi, what if I'm not good enough to be the chief? It seems like I'm always hearing the people talking about how young and inexperienced I am. I've never really been a leader before…so…I don't…"

"Nonsense." Orochi stated this word quite sternly in interruption, sitting up straight.

"What?' She asked quietly, looking into his dark brown eyes that were currently staring holes through her.

"I may not have been on that journey with you, Sheena. But I know that you were one of the main things that held that group of people together. You were the main reason they all came to Tethe'alla in the first place. Without your help, they never would have known that Tethe'alla even existed. You were the bridge, Sheena. You made it happen. Think – if you were never to have gone to Sylvarant, the Chosen of Sylvarant and her party never would have tried to set the two worlds straight. She probably would have died. And then the Chosen of our world, and even more Chosens after that. YOU were the deciding factor. You saved countless lives. If anyone can lead Mizuho to greatness, Sheena, it's undoubtedly you."

When the ninja fell silent, he watched his partner, who was carefully staring back at him. Her chocolate brown pupils gazed curiously into his, wondering where all of that might have come from. Orochi turned a light scarlet at the realization of his ramblings, glancing away from the young woman and pulling the blue cloth he usually wore as part of his normal attire up over his nose.

"Maybe you should find a way to make sure that they will trust you to make the right decisions." He suggested, detached. The solution faded as the two of them sat in silence, Sheena becoming more infatuated with the idea than she let Orochi see.

"Yeah, think of a way to win them over…all right, I'll do it! I have to see the King tomorrow anyway," She nodded, standing up from her seat on the floor. "I'll think it over while I'm in Meltokio for a few days." She smiled down at her companion, her reassuring childhood friend.

"Thanks Orochi." She managed, looking away quickly.

"Wait." Orochi started, staring after her as she moved toward the door. Sheena stopped moving, turning to look at the male ninja.

"Yeah?" she inquired, placing a hand to her hip. She carefully blew a couple strands of jet-black hair from her face before returning her eyes to him.

"Why…Meltokio?" He asked, cocking his head slightly to the left. "What's there?"

"Well…" The heir to the Igaguri style thought out loud, looking to the floor. "I have to tell the King about the replacement of Chiefs. I want to formally introduce myself as the Chief of Mizuho." She nodded.

Orochi nodded as well, although he stared past her for a brief moment.

"Ah." He mused faintly, lifting his head a little bit. He flashed her a small smile. "You better be going then."

Sheena stared for a moment before agreeing, packing her things, and leaving for Meltokio.

Zelos' body shifted slightly, causing her mild fear of heights to whip her heart into a fluttered mixture of pulses. She scrambled to grab substantial hold of her companion, cautiously eyeing the scenery below her.

"So you went to formally introduce yourself as Chief of Mizuho." He reiterated, glancing back at her with a slightly surprised expression when she gripped his waist tighter. She, looking upward at him for a brief moment, stretched her face into a grimace of sorts, as if remembering something sour.

"That's right. And you just happened to catch me there." She answered in mockery of her company's happy, upbeat tone.

"That's my perfect timing, though! My instincts can always direct me to a beautiful woman, whether I know it or not!" She could almost feel him smirking.

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely it..." She rolled her eyes away from him. One would think that with being so high up, Zelos and his ego would about level out in height…

"Sheena Fujibayashi, requesting a assembly with the King of Tethe'alla." The purple-clad ninja crossed her arms over her chest and bowed low for the leftmost guard standing outside of the King's palace. The man grunted, stepping away from the large, golden door to pull it open and allow her inside.

The main hall that led to the King's throne had not changed since she had last seen it – expensive red carpets, long, luxurious balconies, costly, yet eye-catching decorations dappling the walls and ceilings…Large marble pillars guided her up to two massive, jewel-studded chairs, which were…strangely unoccupied. Upon realizing this, Sheena slowly scanned the room, curiously searching for where the King might have been. If he were not present at the time, the guards would have known it. Could they have let her in anyway? If so, she really hadn't know that there was so much trust between the Royal Lineage and the people of Mizuho…

Leaning to the side, she looked past the large thrones, only to find as much as she had before. The King was nowhere to be found.

"Your Majesty…?" She called out, her rather timid voice echoing throughout the large room.

No response.

"Your Majesty?" She called a little louder, but there was still silence.

Where could he have gone, she wondered. She glanced over to either side of the thrones to ask one of the guards stationed there, but…

Turning around, Sheena suddenly realized there were no guards in the main hall. Normally, they oversaw his every move, making sure that he was safe from any harm possible. But now, the hall was empty.

…Something's not right, she thought, glancing about suspiciously. Something's really off.

Suddenly, her sensitive hearing picked up muffled voices coming from behind one of the doors leading into the hall. They sounded quite jubilant from what she could decipher. It could just be the King and his guards, back from some sort of informal meeting or something…

…

But this didn't stop her from being cautious. It could very well be trouble – trouble in the form of two thieves that had kidnapped the King and were now laughing as they spoke about stealing his money and valuable items–

Wait, hold on - what was she thinking? Sheena shook her head, ridding herself of such an insane thought. The King's men had this place guarded from every angle – they would know if someone got in, or out with any stolen items, for that matter.

…

But then again, if the knights didn't know about it, it must have been a well-hidden inside job. Possibly two high-ranking bandits that snuck into the palace dressed as knights or as one of the King's many indentured servants. Then, at the most well-planned and least-expected moment, they would come out, offering the King wine or informing him of the status of the palace, when in truth, they would knock him out and hide him while they stole his precious jewels.

It was almost the perfect plan. No one would ever know, and if she didn't act soon, they would get away with it.

Sheena slid into a straighter, more catlike position, poising herself to strike. Backing herself up against one of the marble pillars, she attempted to blend in as best she could in her lavender ninja garb. She could almost hear them talking now…

"…cess Hilda will be next on our list of concerns." A deep, manly voice entered, their footsteps growing louder as the two proceeded down the hall.

"Whaddya mean?" The other, a decidedly less deep, but still masculine voice asked. This one sounded vaguely familiar to Sheena…maybe one of the former Papal Knights?

"Well, she is the next in line for the throne. She's the kingdom's only heir."

Sheena listened carefully. It seemed they were planning their next attack – Princess Hilda. They'd take her next. And then hold both her and the King ransom for all of Tethe'alla's money. They'd get away safely – but little did they know, Sheena Fujibayashi was going to stop them right in their tracks. It was her part of her job, you know, as soon-to-be new Chief of Mizuho and all.

"…hen that happens, we'll be in perfect shape." Concluded voice-number-one confidently. The footsteps were almost to the door now.

"Ah, yeah, strike while the iron's hot, right?" Added voice-number-two. They both laughed.

The door creaked open slowly, Sheena pouncing from her hidden position, drawing her cards, and lunging skillfully at the closest thief.

"Pyre Seal –!"

The announcement of her attack came to a sharp halt when she realized that her imagination had gotten the best of her. Sighing heavily, she lowered her guard.

" – Pinion."

Inches from the face of his attacker, Zelos Wilder grinned, glancing to the King of Tethe'alla that had stopped beside him.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Sheena."

"For the last time, I thought you were burglars! From the way you were talking about Princess Hilda, I thought you were gonna kidnap her like I thought you had kidnapped the King." Sheena explained, fervently trying to make her runaway imagination sound the least bit believable. It was true, and yet every time she said it, Zelos would have that same "Uh-huh, sure." expression.

"Why would there be bandits in the castle, Sheena…?" He asked sarcastically, shaking his head. "Why would anyone even let them in?"

"I don't know! All I knew was that the King wasn't there and that I heard people coming down the hall. I had to think the worst." Sheena retaliated. "It might have just been you, but you all would have been thanking me had it actually been burglars…" Her voice trailed off into a mumble.

Zelos simply laughed at her pitiable attempt at persuasion. "I guess so," he mused under his breath. He then scratched the back of his head and sighed. "In any case, we'll be there soon. See? That didn't take long, did it?" He smiled.

She smirked maliciously in reply. "Hah, as long as I feel like I'm spending as little time as I can with you, then I'm fine." He told him bluntly.

Zelos hung his head, faux depression crashing over him like the crest of a large tsunami. "So cruel…" He mumbled dejectedly.

All of a sudden, the Rheiard jerked, jolting the two to the left. Sheena clutched the pilot's waist, planting her feet.

"Stop it, you Idiot Chosen! You're going to make us fall!" She snapped angrily.

"Hahah, that's what you get for being – uh, what?" The Chosen stopped in the middle of his sentence, glancing about the control board worriedly.

"That didn't sound good!" Sheena replied anxiously, standing straighter to look over Zelos' shoulder while fighting with his wild, windblown red hair. "What did you say that for?"

"Uhm…the Rheiard just…shut off."

Slowly, the mechanism began falling earthward; panic ensued.

"What did you DO?" Sheena cried out, trying to keep her balance.

"I didn't do anything!" He retorted while pressing various buttons and smacking the Rheiard itself. "It all of a sudden just turned off!"

"Well, turn it back on!"

"What does it LOOK like I'm DOING?"

Zelos, as best he could while quite literally "falling out of the sky", attempted to reboot the aircraft. His leg slid back, whit boot stomping on a pedal while he held down a lever attached to one of the handlebars. The Rheiard made a groaning noise, but continued to fall.

"It's not working!"

"WHAT YOU MEAN IT'S NOT WORKING?!"

"It's not rebooting! We're falling too fast- it's not catching enough mana particles for it to start!"

Sheena looked down, watching the rapidly approaching forest below them.

"We're gonna crash!" She cried out, holding on tight to him.

Zelos glanced downward before sighing heavily. He picked up his companion and slung her over his back, jumping from the machine.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT?! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!"

"Calm down! Will you just trust me?" He called out, keeping a firm hold on her legs and attempting to breathe through the death grip she had around his neck.

"YOU JUST JUMPED OFF OF OUR RHEIARD AND NOW WE'RE PLUMMETING TOWARDS THE GROUND DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

THUMP.

Zelos' boots collided with a thick branch of a tree, and he lunged off of it, falling onto another branch below it. The pair slowly rocked back and forth, Zelos gaining his balance on the tree limb by using the arch of his boots as a sort of fulcrum.

The two cautiously gazed upward, watching the falling Rheiard scrape and snap various tree limbs before hitting the ground with a large, sudden, metallic crash. Black smoke billowed from the aircraft, signaling its defeat.

"Well, this sucks." Zelos muttered after a long moment.

"Um, Zelos, this branch, it's…" Sheena looked downward at the branch they were now standing on, cautiously biting on her bottom lip.

"Hahah, see? I'm pretty good at this ninja stuff, Sheena!" Zelos, not listening of course, exclaimed excitedly while steadily keeping his balance on the tree limb. He glanced over his shoulder at the ninja on his back, who was less than enthused. "Heh, if I joined the ninjas in your village, I think I'd be pretty good! I think I could make a pretty sexy ninja too, if I do say so mys –"

CRRRRRRACK.

"…Wha?"

"Yeah, some ninja."

The limb snapped.

Nexus: I don't know what it is, but I've always pictured Sheena as having a fear of heights – I forget if she actually had one or not…I mean, when it's either someone gets killed or she goes high up, she'll go high up, but when it's just for the "fun" of it, I think she'd be a little terrified. But she never used to be afraid on the Rheiards in the game… I don't know.

I REALLY like reviews. :3 Just sayin'.