Note to Readers: Just another break or one-shot. I am terribly sorry for the lack of updates in anything since the computer with all my documents crashed recently, so now I am using my other computer with no documents whatsoever and I am starting all over again. What a drag, but that mean I have to write a one-shot instead of a chapter. So sorry once again, I hope to get everything together again soon enough.

Summary: Zelos was the ultimate playboy. No woman can resist his charms but one. But what happens when she has a plan of her own? Sheelos, small hint of Colloyd, one-shot
True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.
-La Rochefoucald

The Final Step

By Potter29vo

Every day, he thought it was his last...hoping that he could find that special someone who would spend all eternity with him. But the possibly of that was fairly slim when one was the ultimate playboy who would hit on every woman he saw. There was always one girl though... that knew almost everything and the one he knew he must pursue. Her name was Sheena Fujibayashi, a ninja of Mizuho.

The seven-year-old, red haired Chosen of Mana never considered himself fortunate for this title. Oh, how he loathed it! He never wanted this title, and his only wish was to escape it whenever possible and not be called "Chosen" anymore. Why? Because of this title, he was born, unwanted, by his parents; not to mention the Pope and the royal family saw him as a threat. He was never allowed to leave his house, always under supervision.

That hadn't stopped his stepmother or Seles's mother from attempting to kill him on one snowy day in Meltokio. Never had he expected such an attack, one meant for him...the one that killed his own mother. He hadn't wanted to cry; she'd never loved him anyway. But he couldn't help but cry. He had been young back then.

His poor half-sister, Seles, was under house arrest for something her mother did. It wasn't right, but there was nothing else to be done.

He felt lonely in this world, someone who couldn't fit in anywhere because he was the Chosen. Being the Chosen was an important job, one that greatly affected one's whole lifestyle. How much he wanted to be free!

Then, something happened...something that greatly affected his personality forever. It was a year after his mother's death, and the King had invited him to a dinner party. He hadn't wanted to attend, of course, but declining would have been a slight to the King. At the end, he went in this particular royal outfit given to him by the King.

Few people had seen him for some time; everyone was surprised to see his bright face with such elegant red locks falling about his shoulders. It was as if everything changed for him that day; all the young girls started to talk to him and asked him this and that. He felt weird...how someone lonely all his life would be noticed by so many people especially the girls and their moms.

That evening as he ate, all the other young girls wanted to sit at the same table he was at, causing many of his fellow males to glower at him in envy. He didn't know why...maybe it was because of all the loneliness that he had suffered so much...or maybe it was the fact that he was actually being spoken to. He didn't want to talk at first, but everything gotten out of his control. That was when he started taking more interest in the opposite gender. He chatted with all the girls, answered all their questions, laughed at their jokes, and ate the food laid out on the table with them. He had no clue why they took such particular interest in him, at least not at that age.

When he was older, he started noticing patterns around him. He had no need of protection anymore since he was already learning to be a swordsman. So, he practiced these new skills while all his "hunnies" watched him in admiration. They especially admired his good looks above his skills by far. He took advantage of all this attention he received. For instance, they always told him the answers to tests in school and answered in his place for attendance. He was quite carefree about school. Actually, he never had anything to worry about ever again...thanks to the girls who adored him. They did everything.

It was then that he realized why they crowded around him so much. It was because of this role he had to play! That was why he hid his own feelings inside: all his hatred for this responsibility and his sadness and anger at his circumstances. He left that all deep inside, not allowing the girls to know about his past.

He never really liked any of the girls he was with; they were all too much the same. Each attempted to earn his attention by sending him presents or taking walks through the outside gardens in front of the palace with him. He knew each and every one of their names, but never did he really think about them as anything more than another woman swooning under his charms.

Zelos spend most of his time with the opposite gender, quickly learning about their standard behaviors and feminine nuances. He paid close attention to how they reacted to different gifts, and how delicate and tidy they were compared to men. He took mental notes of these particular details for future reference.

By taking these notes, he knew exactly how to charm females and how to say the sweet words they wanted to hear. He was so accustomed to performing these actions that he automatically did them each time he came upon any female. It was something he could do, something that would leave all the misery of his past behind. Inside, he was lonely. All the girls were the same to him; no one was different than the last. They all wanted the same thing and gave the same thing.
He was wrong though, dead wrong. He never knew this until he met her. Not only remembering her name like others, but also every single detail about her. Her personality. Her mannerisms. Her exotic beauty. Every aspect became precious to him. It was one sunny day as he walked through the garden with his usual groupies when he caught sight of her.

At that time, he thought of her as just another woman to be wooed by his awesome charm. He noticed little nuances about her that interested him: lovely figure, foreign clothing, and deep, violet eyes that happened to be gazing at the flowers near the bench she was sitting upon. But rather than that, she seemed to be no different than any other female he had come upon before.

She was quite beautiful, however. Intrigued by her comeliness, he strolled over and sat by her side. Watching the same daisies she was keeping her eyes on, he could look at her more clearly. She was very special in appearance; quite feminine, yet there was something about her that was different.

At the sight of her, Zelos had determined her identity. She must be the representative of Mizuho, which had traveled to Meltokio to learn the basics of summoning. He had read some reports about this from the King and thought the summoner was a male. Unlike most instances, he found himself pleased with his assumption. Clearing his throat, he asked for her name.

The girl was on her guard however. "Why should I tell you? Tell me your name then." This shocked him; no girl had ever said such. And most of all, everyone already knew who he was; if she really didn't know, she surely could have asked politely.

She was unique and rough around the edges, already a plus in his book.

"You don't know my name? I still have ways to go, I see. But I know your name; it's Sheena, is it not?" he asked as she brought her full attention to him. She tilted her head to the side a little in confusion as a smile brightened his face. This was going to be another easy pickup.

"How did you know?" she questioned. Zelos laughed at the inquiry. He knew all of the goings-on in Meltokio since with all his gossiping hunnies running around, he was in charge of all the situations and news.

"I know everything going on around here, and how could I miss the name of a goddess like yourself?" Despite attempting to charm her as he was so used to doing, she didn't seem a bit impressed. This thoroughly surprised him. No woman was immune to his charisma!

"Why are we even having this conversation? This is very pointless to me," the summoner replied tightly, annoyance in her violet eyes and posture.

Hard to catch. Another plus in his book.

Thinking that this might not be so easy, he pulled out one of his roses he always carried with him just for these occasions and gave it to her. Sheena raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Because you might be beautiful on the outside like this rose, but you are much like its thorns as well," Zelos answered to her unspoken inquiry, already certain that he had completely won her over.

But, no, she didn't accept it and soon enough he saw her leaving the gardens in which they had had their conversation in. He couldn't understand one bit of this; she didn't fall prey to his charms. She was a challenge, now, and he suddenly wanted her badly, something that surprised himself. He never had these feelings for another female before her.

He wasn't in love...was he? That was impossible, the word wasn't even in his vocabulary.

To if he truly was in love with her, Zelos made a point to have her sent away. He took the opportunity to suggest her as the emissary of death for the Chosen of Sylvarant, and the King hastily agreed to it. She was to go to the declining world of Sylvarant and attempt to kill the Chosen, so as to allow Tethe'alla to continue flourishing.

Before Sheena left, Zelos tried to sneak a peek of her in the shower. It was a sly idea, since most women would have left their guard down at a time like that, but not this one. Sheena heard him, and she caught him red-handed. He was disappointed that he didn't get to see anything, but he was also delighted at her reaction. She was worth winning over, and a test he could truly pass without cheating.

The time she was gone was torture to his heart; all day and all night, he could only think about her and if she was in good health or not. Would the Chosen in Sylvarant be powerful enough to defeat Sheena? What would he do if they killed her? How would he be able to live on any longer without her? He kept pacing in front of his bed in the middle of night, awakened by nightmares of her death.

Zelos knew he had made an awful mistake of testing himself by endangering Sheena. He regretted it now. The fact that she could possibly be dead in the declining world caused his stomach to twist. He knew she was strong, but what if they were stronger? The people of Sylvarant might be behind technology-wise, but their increasing numbers would still pose as a threat.

An even more upsetting thought of her long stay in the other world might be because she had fallen in love with a man in Sylvarant and decided to betray Tethe'alla for this person. That was a possibility. Zelos knew that Sheena was not the type of person who would do something so drastic, but love usually conquers all...at least from what he heard. This caused him even greater anxiety. He really didn't want to lose her in death or in heart; he wanted her for himself.

There was also a chance that she might have completed the task, but merely wanted to explore Sylvarant without informing the Royal Palace. He could not imagine why she would try to do that in a dump of a world like that, but that was also another possibility for her hiatus. This was not as bad as the other two possibilities, but he would kill himself to know she was wasting such valuable time to get away from him. He was not at all delighted at her absence.

This still didn't mean he had any personal feelings for the ninja. Any male could see that she was absolutely worth the wait since she was so lovely and beautiful, a prize worth winning. He knew he thought about her more than any other person in his life, but that still didn't mean anything. He was merely determined to discover that she truly was no different than any other female. Yes, all women had a weakness; he just had to find hers. He could not allow himself to be defeated at this twisted game of love.

If she was dead, then he had surely lost since she would never see him as any more than a moron of some sort. But he had to prove to her that she needed him to survive, that she could fall in love with him. It was not the game of him falling in love with her, but the game of her falling in love with him. This he had to accomplish.

With these thoughts, Zelos waited for her return from Sylvarant with good news. The feelings were mixed inside himself, in which he could never admit. The pain of waiting, the patience slowly flowing away, and his heart beating whenever he heard the messenger from the King knocking on his door. He wanted her back now! He had no feelings for her...right?
That day Zelos sat down on his comfortable couch as his obedient and loyal servant, Sebastian, brought coffee for his comfort. He thought it might be a good time to talk to the servant once and awhile.

"Sebastian...how's your daily routine?" Zelos asked, while holding the cup in one hand while wrapping the other around his neck, feeling relaxed at his own home.

"Good, sir, but I noticed that you had been much occupied in your sleep." He decided to mention this bit of information while still standing up. It was his duty to stand unless permission granted. Zelos noticed the discomfort of the older man in front of him, and he offered the servant a seat. Sebastian sat down, bewildered by his master.

"Is that so?" Zelos sipped his drink as his servant waited patiently before answering.

"Yes, you always twist and turn. Sometime even speak." He continued answering the questions obediently as Zelos thought for a few moments. Of course, he wouldn't know what he did during his sleep since he was asleep after all.

"Speak of what? You would know, of course," Zelos responded blandly.

Sebastian felt a bit nervous now from what Zelos could see, but still attempted to keep a calm façade. He was silent before answering honestly. "Sometimes I would hear words like 'Sheena' and 'don't die'." The servant was more uncomfortable now.

Zelos stared into his coffee at his own reflection. "She...I don't even know her that well. But I could tell that she is different from anyone I had met before..." Zelos mumbled his thoughts out loud, waiting for Sebastian to answer. He didn't pay any more attention to his coffee growing cold by the minute.

"Master, forgive me for saying this, but there is such thing as love at first sight." Zelos nearly jumped at the words. The servant was about to get up and leave when Zelos shook his head, telling him to sit back down once more.

"I don't believe in that," Zelos answered as the conversation grew more intense by the minute. "I don't think it's possible for me, at least. There will never be someone for me. I had played around with too many to deserve a single caring one to live her life with me."

"Don't worry, Master. Your father thought so too, but he was wrong. Well, it was a bad comparison but..." The servant held his tongue, fearing that he had already taken to many liberties speaking. It was already wrong to talk like this to his master in the first place. Zelos didn't seem to mind, however.

"Maybe it was a good comparison, but I will never forgive my father for leaving my mother and me for that woman. I still hated the thought of it. My mother wanted another man as well. The whole relationship was completely twisted." Zelos ignored Sebastian's gasp.

"Master, I think I found out your problem." Sebastian brightened up at this idea. Zelos looked at him curiously, waiting for the answer. "You actually have feelings for this Sheena, but you cannot admit it to yourself because you don't want to hurt her."

Zelos was dumbstruck now. Could all of this be true?

"How?" he blurted.

Sebastian glanced around the room several times as if afraid of another human being there to listen to their conversation. "One, forgive me for saying this, but since you do treat all the women you meet the same...you don't want to admit to yourself that you could treat one differently. And second of all, you don't want to have feelings in which you might have to betray later on."

Zelos was more confused than ever now. All this talk was not usually in his repertoire. "How?" he asked again, feeling rather dim.

"Think about it, Master Wilder. What if you and she were together and then you received an oracle from Cruxis saying that you had to marry another for the sake of the Mana lineage? This is exactly what happened to your parents and from your own experience, you don't want your child or she to endure the same pain."

This explanation was too much for the Chosen as he left the room, and went to the dining room. In doing this, he left Sebastian more confused than ever.

He had made a decision...he must win no matter what and this mean by any tactic. He could not be in love; it wasn't possible. He just wanted all the girls in the world to fall for him by his charms. That was all. He wanted revenge for what Seles's mother did to him and his own mother. He could not trust the opposite sex as much as he did. He could not trust anyone at all, not even Sebastian. His servant was against him on his views now.

Throughout his days, he had met so many new faces such as Lloyd, the younger male with the two swords, Genis, the brat, Raine, the gorgeous professor, Colette, the non-talking cute, angel girl, and Presea, the cold little rosebud. Most of them came from Sylvarant except for Presea. Sheena even left a letter telling the reasons of her failure and this now brought him into keeping tabs on these "uncivilized barbarians".

But the real reason he really wanted to get out of Meltokio was the chance of meeting her again. When Cruxis secretly gave him the ability to use magic, he allowed himself to be used because this was his only chance to be by her side once more. He had this feeling that she would attempt to meet up with this Sylvarant group again since she had basically betrayed Tethe'alla for them, and he expected Mizuho to keep its eyes on them to decide if it should side with the royal family or Lloyd. This was only because of the test...that was all.

Endless events were thrown in their directions and little did the rest of the group know, Zelos was secretly giving both the Renegades and Cruxis information. Zelos knew he needed to be on the winning side or the side that had the best chances of winning. He needed to see whom he should choose: between the Renegades and Cruxis; Lloyd's group was out of the picture for the moment. How could Lloyd expect to win?

Zelos was worried every second of the day: not only was he trying to win Sheena over but he was afraid of his own desire to be friends with everyone else, especially Lloyd. This was troubling him. For instance, Lloyd had trusted him and he led them through the underground sewers, where they met a certain prisoner. It wasn't the prettiest sight since he landed right on top of the Chosen of Tethe'alla, demanding to turn Colette over. Zelos could see concern in Sheena's eyes, but the emotion quickly changed to one of disinterest.

"Lloyd, if you leave me here...I swear I'll come back to haunt you," Zelos warned, trying to keep his body in one piece.

"I suddenly have an urge to leave you there," Lloyd answered playfully as Presea ran up to the prisoner, using her rusty axe to free Zelos from the situation he was in. Zelos immediately retreated behind Lloyd, and sighed in relief while wrapping both his arms around Lloyd's neck in a bud-kind of way. Sheena rolled her eyes as Zelos winked at her.

When the situation was done with, they met up with Sheena's friends in the laboratory and then, decided to stay at his home for the day. He took this opportunity to make the next move on the Mizuho guardian when everyone was still eating dinner. He caught her retreating to her bedroom and eventually staring out the window. She was gazing at something, worried about something. He followed, of course.

Everyone else already went around the house, exploring the place. He didn't care less since Sebastian would inform him if they broke anything at all. He slipped into the room, unnoticed, and watched her. If he ever said she was not dazzling to look at, he was lying. Even from her backside, he could feel his heart skip a beat at her still form. But he wouldn't allow himself to say that he actually had any sort of "love" for her, at least not at the time.

Zelos walked silently to her; from behind he covered her eyes with his hands as he said softly, "Darling, it's the person you're thinking about right now." She pulled his hand off of her eyes roughly as she glared at him.

"Who said I was thinking about you?" she demanded.

"Hunny, no girl or woman ever resists my charms. Face it, you're in denial." He used his slick words on her, but found no good reaction from it. She turned around, her back to him as stared out the window once more.

"I don't like people like you," she spoke harshly as he moved to stand beside her. He watched the big city of Meltokio working. How much he wanted to wrap her in his arms and hold her tightly. But he refrained until he could discover her weakness. Their arms touched, but both were too concentrated on something else to notice.

"Then what type of people do you like?" he asked, wondering if there was even an answer to that.

"Why do you, of all people, want to know?" she questioned him back, turning to face him.

"Because you're different from my other hunnies."

She stretched her arms for a few seconds before placing them at her sides. "You can't expect me to be the same as those girls, you know!" she exclaimed as he almost jumped at her raised voice.

"Well, you did keep the rose," Zelos replied slyly.

Sheena flushed. It was true that she had never thrown it away and actually kept it in a very safe place. She recovered quickly, though. "I threw it out." she said hastily before looking away. Zelos grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. He could not deny how her violet eyes matched her personality so well, and how bright they were when it was filled with happiness or rage.

"You lie." She retracted her arm away from his grip as her gaze went toward the floor.

"I don't like people like you. I like people like Lloyd." She finally admitted it as his eyes opened in surprise. He didn't expect an answer like that, but he did notice that Lloyd seemed very fond of Sheena. But Colette was better suited to him.

"Really? Now that's a first," he said jokingly as he almost got a slap from her. He grabbed her hand before it made contact. Surprised, she quickly removed it from his grasp.

"Zelos, stop bugging me!" Sheena cried as she started pushing Zelos towards the door.

Before she slammed the door on him, he held the door tight with his hand, facing her with a small smile of his own. "If I don't get you to love me, Sheena Fujibayashi, I failed to be the man I am." He let go of the door and took a few steps backward in time before she slammed the door in his face. He felt this contact already made her think about him more and this was the first step. He didn't know about the following events that would make his plan go in the opposite direction, however.

Sheena started making pacts with Summon Spirits ever since she was in Sylvarant, and the next one on her list was Volt, the Summon Spirit of Thunder. Sheena didn't have enough courage to take on Volt until it killed Corrine. It was then that she shouted out: "Volt, I demand your power!" The battle ended, but Sheena was in a bitter depression as well as everyone else. Zelos knew how much sadder she would grow if everyone else was in that mood as well so he kept his spirits high.

Walking through the dark, Sheena was in no mood to talk as everyone left her walking in the back. Zelos felt his heart aching to see her so sad, but he could not show this to everyone else. How much he wanted to comfort her in a way that Lloyd would, but that wouldn't be like him at all. He would never try anything like that, so he let her be. It was for the best at least. He could have taken this opportunity to take advantage of her; he knew how but he couldn't. That was when he noticed his new emotion for her—respect. That didn't stop him from using flowery words on her. He also figured out that she was acting tough on the outside when she was rather delicate on the inside.

The next event that greatly affected Zelos was his unwanted feelings that were growing inside himself for Lloyd and Sheena. He surprised even himself with his behavior at the Otherwordly Gate. The Papal Knights surrounded them, and Kuchinawa was with them. He wanted revenge on Sheena for killing his parents in the Volt accident years ago, and she didn't want to let this affect the rest of them. She wanted to sacrifice herself so everyone would go free.

This was the moment Zelos had a decision to make. He could not stop thinking of her and he could not let her leave his life so soon. He didn't want her to leave his life at all; he wanted her to be part of his life. Maybe she expected something else, maybe she expected Lloyd to come up and save her from all this. This could have been what she wanted, but Lloyd was stunned and confused at the moment.

Why should he even help her? She liked Lloyd better than him, and she never wanted him to interfere with anything she did. She was just another female, and when she was gone, another would take her place. But before he could stop himself, he already looked up at the moon and saw a light coming from it. It was now or never. He ran to her side, grabbed her arm, and the two dashed toward the portal to Sylvarant. He could not lose her...he didn't want to ever lose her again.

Over and over, Zelos knew he was growing tired of his attempts to win her over. He watched and watched as she paid more attention to Lloyd than him, and how she talked nicer to Lloyd than him. Zelos was nothing to her; he wanted her to notice him, to see him as someone different than the playboy who had hit on her in Meltokio. He was jealous! But how could he be jealous when he had everything? There was something missing, however.

It was her.

Even as he hit on other random girls during the journey, he could still see deadly glares from Sheena at the corner of his eyes. Could she actually feel the same emotion toward him? He could not show it to her, but he knew her weakness. It was her anger, and he figured it out when he kept on teasing her with this and that. If he could make her admit that she had feelings for him, he would feel accomplished.
Another night, Zelos knew he must accomplish another step with the ninja, but it turned out rather unexpectedly. He hung around the casino in Altamira instead of going off into the play with the rest of the group. Lloyd wanted someone trustworthy to keep an eye out for Zelos just in case he blew all his gald at the place, and it turned out to be no other than Sheena. Sheena sat at the bar while Zelos started talking with one of the employees, the ones dressed in the bunny costume.

The more Zelos talked with the female, the more Sheena drank. She was surprised at behavior, but some reason she couldn't stop. Her eyelids began to feel heavy. She could see the blurry image of Zelos running over by her side, and shaking her lightly.

"Sheena, you're not fainting on me, are you?" His voice was ringing through her ears as she smiled stupidly at him.

"Then what? You will just dump me somewhere and continue your flirting? Sure, go ahead." She dropped her head on the table, one hand still holding tightly to her drink as Zelos watched all of this in complete shock. How did Sheena end up like this? Zelos shook her again to wake her up, but was interrupted by some footsteps behind him.

Regal and Raine were standing behind the two. Zelos looked up and tried to look innocent as Raine raised an eyebrow at this sight. "Zelos, you're not trying to get Sheena drunk are you? We shouldn't have left you in the casino alone with Sheena! Lloyd was wrong about you." Zelos sighed. It was typical that they would think it was his fault. "You guys go on ahead to the hotel, Sheena and I will catch up later," Zelos announced as he glanced at Sheena, who was unconscious on the table of the bar. Raine was about to argue some more about this subject when Lloyd came running into the place, and looked around swiftly before smiling.

"Professor, it's really late! We better hurry and get to the hotel before they know I'm not over eighteen to be here!" Lloyd whispered loudly to Raine, who just sighed heavily before leaving the casino with Regal, who was silent the whole time. Lloyd smiled at Zelos. "We'll see you two in the morning." He left before a guard actually noticed that Lloyd entered the casino without permission.

Zelos was about to pick up the summoner when she opened her eyes, wide enough to make out the Chosen standing before her. Zelos leaned down, leaving his back for her to climb on; she struggled onto his back and held his neck tightly before he stood up and gripped her securely. "Zelos...what are we still doing here?" she asked, her voice a bit different than usual. Maybe a bit more girly in Zelos's opinion.

"We just ran into a little problem with Raine...it's time to head back to the hotel where the rest of the group is sleeping," Zelos explained as Sheena nodded and dropped her head onto his shoulder, her eyes closing. He could smell the scent of alcohol coming from her, but he didn't really care at the moment.

They were outside the casino now and were heading for the rail. He held onto her tightly, for her feared that me might drop her. Her head was moving back and forth as if trying to fight off her drunken stupor. He brought her into the ride and stood there, waiting. "You don't mind...if I start singing, do you?" she questioned, her voice higher and sweeter than usual. It was as if she had completely reverted to her feminine side.

"No, sing all you like," Zelos said quietly, keeping his eyes on the dark sky.

Sheena started singing a tune, louder than Zelos had expected. He remembered that tune so long ago...when his mother was still alive. She sang it to him as a lullaby; he smiled at the memory. His mother never wanted him to be born, but she never really hated him either. She had truly cared for him, but had a difficult time displaying it.

A couple stared at Zelos, who had a singing Sheena on his back as he bowed his head a little to greet them before entering the hotel. It was just so unusual to hear Sheena singing to herself like this, maybe she did have a feminine side to her...one that was hidden from everyone else. Maybe discovering it had been a mistake. He felt really awkward, carrying her to the elevator and waiting for it to go to the 5th floor. She had stopped singing now.

"Zelos...you're so evil..." she started saying before giggling. If he wasn't there when she was drinking, he would have thought his Sheena had either gone insane or she had hit her head very hard.

Zelos kicked the door to his room open as he dropped her on the bed that was supposed to be his. Her lips had curled into a silly smile as she hugged a pillow tightly to her body. She slowly opened her eyes opened as tiny tears filled her eyes. "Zelos... why do you always do this to me?" she asked out of nowhere as Zelos could only shrug in reply.

The next he knew, she spread her arms open and waiting for him to do something. This was getting a bit too weird for his taste, but he was delighted at the thought. He had learned somewhere that when someone was drunk, they wouldn't remember the experience. Maybe this was his chance at last.

She was enveloped in his arms now, holding tightly around his neck. So tight that he might have choked. She gently snuggled her cheek against his, not knowing what she was doing. "Sheena...are you really ok?" he asked once more as she nodded.

"I'm ok! I'm not drunk!" she cried out loud as if he was accusing her of something. She loosened her grip around his neck as he held her tight around the hips. She closed her eyes soundly, as she still had that goofy smile on. She dropped her head on his shoulder as if asleep now.

He was now bewildered as he gently placed her on top of her pillow, her chest heaving up and down with every breath she took. He stared at her still figure in front of him before bending down and placing a kiss on her lips. It was like a dream come true. The chance to show that Sheena really did have a weakness, and he had exploited it. He gripped tight to her neck with one hand and the other was making its way to her ribbon when he froze in the middle of the action.

What in the world was he doing? Why did he stop all of a sudden? He got up and away from her now, feeling himself tired already. He couldn't get himself to do it. He couldn't take advantage of her when she was in this condition. He would have done it with any other female in the world, but he couldn't get himself to do this to her. This was not right to him anymore. He loved her so much, so much that he could not do this without her in it willingly.

He retreated out of the room, hands shaking, his thoughts swirling. He glanced at her sleeping figure before leaving the room. He was not the same Chosen he used to be...he was in love. And of all people, it was the same person he wanted to win over at first.

The next night in Heimdall, the same night in which Lloyd had to decide what he was going to do about Kratos. Zelos turned out to have trusted Lloyd enough to help him instead of Cruxis. Or in other words, he had chosen the weaker side. He was by the woods, sitting by himself that evening when Sheena walked over to him. He didn't want to show his perverted side any longer, especially with what happened in Altamira with Sheena.

She sat down next to him, and touched his shoulder gently to show him she was there with him. He looked up and gave a small smile before he gazed in another direction once more. She looked tired for some reason as she sighed to herself.

"I'm here to apologize," she began as Zelos looked over to her. He had no clue what she was talking about.

"For what?" he asked, voicing his curiosity.

"I doubted you. I thought you actually betrayed us back there. I'm sorry for saying all those mean words," she explained more clearly as Zelos smiled and sat closer to her. She didn't notice, though.

"It's ok, darling. I tried to fool you and I did it so well that I'm proud of myself," he answered, smoothing out another strand of red hair in his eyes. She beamed a little when she heard that.

"Not that I care if you are or not," she said playfully. Zelos looked hurt but then recovered before he showed his offense. He couldn't be mad with her anymore. All he wanted was for her to see him more than a friend. "Sheena, do you still like Lloyd?" he asked as she thought for a little bit before answering.

"No and yes; it was only a small crush. I didn't want to break your hopes and dreams of attending a wedding or hearing wedding bells or anything," she joked as the two gave each other welcoming smiles. Zelos could see Colette walking toward the inn in the corner of his eye.

"Not that I wouldn't hear any soon," he said, glancing over at the inn as Sheena turned to see Colette and Lloyd walking out together. Sheena looked even happier to see this.

"They are so sweet together." Sheena decided to comment as Zelos nodded in agreement before the two stared at each other without any more words spoken aloud.

Sheena blushed slightly before Zelos decided to talk. "I'm not expecting any wedding bells from you any time soon." It was his turn to flush now. Sheena rolled her eyes before she laughed once.

"I wouldn't expect any from you either. I could even bet that no girl would ever live with you for the rest of her life." He raised an eyebrow as if this was a challenge of some sort.

"There's one and..." Zelos stopped and grabbed her hands into his, as he shyly looked away before speaking any more. "She's right here." Sheena was shocked to hear this from Zelos; she immediately stood up, her face filled with disappointment but surprise at the same time.

"Zelos! Where did you get that idea?" she demanded, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

He smirked because he knew her too well now. He was quite certain she had feelings for him and was in complete denial. "You're just acting tough! You're afraid to tell me you love me!" Sheena rolled her eyes and left in disgust. He wondered if he would ever regret that decision to tell her right then.

And now, he was waiting in Sybak to meet her and talk to her about being the emissary for Iselia and the whole world of Sylvarant. He didn't know why he took such a particular interest in Sybak, or as in a location to meet up with her again in so many weeks. Maybe it was there where he saw her for the first time in so many nights...endless days of waiting for her to return to Tethe'alla. He waited, wondering if she would even come to meet him despite what had happened in Heimdall weeks ago.

Remembering the times he had spent with her, the days he should have valued before but missed it by a mile. He stood there at the corner of the Imperial Research Academy, ignoring every person who walked by him except for any sight of her. His still figure was scaring some people as they stared at him, wondering what it is the deal with their beloved Chosen. He was lost in the inside.
When Zelos finally saw her he found himself reaching his hand out to the Mizuho ninja he supposedly knew so well as he ran to her. The faster he ran, the farther she was away from him. He had played this game from the beginning and lost at the very end. He was surrounded by confusion, attempting to engulf him.

He knew how wrong he was to play with her like this. She had the right to know everything. If she would give him another chance, a time in which they could spend together once more, he would tell her of his evil plans before. How selfish he had been to have seen her as a mere object to be won.

He gave up on running any farther. He had been escaping everything from his life and nothing was worth it. But something was now. It was her. He must tell her everything.

Zelos looked up at the surrounding darkness and smiled, willing himself to live on. He had wanted to die before, to vanish from this world...but now he knew he must live on, even if it was painful. He didn't want to lose everything precious to him.

This was all so much like a conundrum, only there to be solved. He tried to clear his mind of any doubts or regrets. The one he acted and tried to leave all those painful memories away. He wasn't man enough to face them, and kept it all locked up. Deaths he saw in front of his eyes, the title, the right to use others for his own needs, and many others he couldn't name.

His factious self was all inside, never believing that anyone had the key to open it. Not even himself! But someone did, and the indigenous individual that always thought of him as nothing more than a pervert was the one who did it. She somehow did it when he thought he himself could not.

"I'm not a dandy anymore. I don't want to play this silly game of love and need. My repugnance for it has gotten stronger and there is nothing to take me back in. All I want is to see her again!" Zelos cried out to not anyone in particular.

As if the voice had uncovered something, the darkness was slowly evaporating and the viable light was coming through. He knew he had sulked enough; it was time to face reality. It was time to promulgate the real person he had kept inside so long.
Zelos opened his eyes, and was back in the place he was as if nothing had happened at all. The people were still staring at him, wondering why he had been behaving so oddly. He smiled sheepishly, "Nothing to worry about! Thanks for your concern!" They sighed and continued walking, the crowd steadily dispersing.

As the people disappeared one by one, Zelos caught sight of the person he longed for all this time. When he spotted her, standing there...watching him...he felt his chest tighten. His heart started beating rapidly.

He wanted to take that step towards her, but his feet would not cooperate. She was the first to step toward him, her propensity to come closer and speak to him. How much she wanted to tell him everything she had hid from him. But not until she knew his side of the story first.

She looked him in the eye; he had grown a few inches from the first time she had met him. She took an intake of breath, trying hard not to break apart in front of him. "The King has a letter for me?" she asked innocently, hiding the anxious feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

"Yes..." He handed it to her, forgetting all the words the King told him to tell her. Actually, he could not do anything but stare into her violet eyes like the lovesick man he was. She accepted the letter, and opened it without another word. She scanned through it with her eyes before she pocketed it.

"Thanks," she said roughly before turning around, ready to leave. He knew it was now or never; he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to face him. She watched his expression, her eyes not blinking, waiting for an answer to all of this.

"Sheena, don't leave me again. I don't want you to go," Zelos said, almost pleading. She still gave no reaction, only looking at him with blank eyes. "You mean everything to me."

Sheena looked down at the ground, as if interested in something there instead of him. She was trying to breathe normally, but he was too close to her...too close to her in public.

But she couldn't move herself and run away from him any longer. She didn't want to run away—she wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to enjoy the feeling of being loved in the arms of the Chosen. As if reading her thoughts, Zelos wrapped one of his arms around her waist, her back to his chest, and stroked her hair playfully. Their bodies fitted perfectly as in a jigsaw puzzle.

He dropped his head on the top of her hair, not letting go of her waist because he was afraid if he did, she would be gone from him once more. And this time, maybe forever. He was afraid, more afraid than he could ever admit and for the first time in his life, he needed something more than anything else in the world. He needed the happiness she could provide him with.

His eyes closed tenderly as his other hand grasped one of her hands. The warmth of her body meant everything to him right now as well as the feeling of her small, soft hands in his rough ones. Her body loosened up as the minutes flew by.

Her body was shaking as she pulled her head up, and looked at him with a mixture of sadness and anger. "You tell that to every girl in the world! How am I supposed to know if it's real or not?"

Zelos would have let her go if she decided to storm off at that very moment, but she didn't. She wanted him to explain; she wanted him to convince her back. She waited for an answer.

"Sheena, I'll tell you everything." Zelos knew it was time for the truth. "Ever since I first met you...I knew you were different from any girl in the world...and I started to show more interest in you than any other. So all I wanted was to win this game, this game that I had the charms to have any lady in the world."

Sheena frowned. "So that's why you always pick on me instead of Raine and Colette most of the time!"

Zelos nodded in agreement. "Exactly. You were unique, but ever since that casino night...I knew it was the perfect time to claim you as mine but..." Zelos hesitated.

Sheena cut in. "But you didn't." Zelos nearly jumped to hear her say those words.

"You knew?"

"I knew...you didn't do anything to me...you just left the room," Sheena answered, her gaze now directed to the ground. She looked hurt for some reason.

"Yes...I realized that I respected you. If I respected you, I had lost the game for good." Zelos caught his breath now, and smiled to himself for revealing all this. He could get all of this off his chest, and he was happy. Sheena still looked somewhere else, unbelieving what she heard.

After a few moments of silence, she asked quietly, "Zelos...you've not always been a pervert...have you?" Zelos shook his head, knowing that she needed to know this too.

"It was sort of like a façade, trying to hide my emotions inside. The loss of someone important to me...but I did show interest in woman," He admitted, thinking deeply for a moment. "Then again, I was never normal. All the women in the world were the same to me." Sheena removed a strand of hair from his eyes and grinned sweetly. He admitted it...it felt so strange to say it all out. But he must.

"Except me, right?" Zelos nodded, as he took his turn to help some strands of violet hair in her eyes as well. He looked off to the sky, amazed at what he had done.

"Sheena...I care about you..." He stopped, trying to think of the next few words he wanted to say. "I need you."

He could see tears in her eyes but she held it all back by a broad smirk. He wondered what she was so proud of when she crossed her arms in front of her body in triumph. "I finally got you to say that...after all that work."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Sheena, what are you talking about?" Zelos raised his voice, ignoring that a few people stopped walking and watched the two for a few seconds before leaving again.
Sheena took a few steps away from his, sitting down on the ground, her legs up to her chest, staring at him steadily while looking amused. Zelos, on the other hand, was in total confusion.

"I'm not who I am either. Ever since the incident with Volt, I felt guilty and knew I could not show my weakness again. I hid that weakness from the world and all everyone could see was the toughness on the outside of me. My weak side was hidden in the same way as your lonely side." She stood up now, and walked over towards him. She stopped a few inches in front of him, their bodies touched once more, but their faces were ways apart. She had to tell him this, and he had to listen closely.

"Then, I met you...I had an interest of course, maybe because of your charms but I highly doubt it. I could not say exactly what I saw that was so unique, but that was what you were to me as well...special. I didn't know you were the Chosen at that time, but I soon found out." She was sidestepping with her feet, nervous about this whole conversation. But he didn't flinch and couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"When I found out, I knew all about your reputation about how you would hit on every women in Meltokio and how they all fall victim to your scheme... that's when I knew I couldn't be one of them... I didn't want to be girl that you could play with for some time and leave...I wanted to become a more permanent part of your life." Zelos was still looking at her, but it felt like he wasn't absorbing any of this. This didn't sound like the Sheena he knew.

Sheena couldn't help but see the odd look on the Chosen's face. It must be very awkward to hear all of this from her. But she didn't expect any less. "So I started to not show interest in you. That was my first step, and it worked perfectly. Knowing you, you noticed me and knew I was different than any other women you've ever met. I was busy, but at the same time, waited for your next move. As I predicted, you'd convinced the King to send me to Sylvarant to see if I'm worth it."

Zelos's eyes widened. She knew... everything!

"I was planning on helping Mizuho by killing Colette but I couldn't get myself to do it. They were all so nice people, and soon enough, I came back here on their side and with mixed feelings. The next step in my plan was to pretend to have a crush on Lloyd and it worked perfectly. I caught the endless evil glares you sent me whenever I got too close to our two-sword friend." Zelos could feel his cheeks warm at the thought of her noticing all that about him.

She gave him a warm smile before tilting her head, watching the clear sky in front of her. "My plan worked...you cared about me...you respected me...you wanted me...I wasn't just another person you could go without."

By this time, Zelos's on her shoulders was tight, holding her still as if she would be gone from his life forever. "Sheena...you won. The two of us had plans of our own for each other, but yours worked and mine failed."

Sheena gently grabbed Zelos's hand off her shoulder and held it tightly in her own. The comfort of this touch made her heart flutter. "But, Zelos...there was one fatal flaw in my plan..." She paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. "My plan all along was for you to know what true love is and to have the honor to feel it for once in your life, since all the other girls only want you for power or wealth and not love."

"What's the flaw?" Zelos asked anxiously as Sheena's eyes darkened. She looked back up at him, straight into his clear crystal eyes.

"The flaw was I was so deep in my plans that I actually turned out to be that tough Sheena, leaving the old, soft one behind. I actually fell in love with the person I least expected to. You were part of my plan, but not this far..." Her eyes reverted to the ground and rested there.

While she held his right hand, he used his left one to lift her chin up to face him. "Sheena, your plan backfired didn't it?" She nodded, her attention to the side. She wanted to look at anything but him.

"This is why we can't be together...this was why I rejected you at Heimdall! Why don't you get the big idea? I cared about you too deeply to be with you!" She stood up while her face filled more with sadness than anger. Crystal tears were already forming in her eyes.

"I don't get the big idea!" Zelos cried out louder, even dragging more attention to the people walking by them. All had stopped to see what was going on.

Both Zelos and Sheena ignored all of this and continued with their argument. "Zelos, you still don't get it. I'm from Mizuho, you're the Chosen of Mana. We don't pair up! No matter what we do, both sides won't accept us to be together! I had made a mistake for digging my hole this deep..." She shook her head.

She was out of control; he knew he must do something to stop her from overreacting anymore. The only thing he could think of doing for the moment was this...

He swiftly grabbed her around the waist and yanked her upwards for a swift kiss. Her eyes popped wide with surprise as she slowly regained her posture and held him tight before letting go. Zelos smiled while she was red, not from anger but embarrassment from the people staring around them. Zelos seemed to like all the attention. "See, Sheena? I, also, had become what I tried to pretend in the first place as well. But the difference is, I don't want to get rid of my title and pass it on to Seles any longer. I want to get rid of this title for good, and for you."

Her face was in total shock now at these words, her voice lost at all this coming out at once. Zelos decided to continue.

He dropped down to one knees, bringing even more astonishment to the summoner's face, as he looked up at her. "Sheena, I know we might not agree on everything and I know that we had been using these silly plans to help one another or help ourselves feel more content, but I don't want to do anything I would regret. I don't want to play games; I want something permanent in my life."

He held her hand tightly in his while his eyes never left her face. She could not contain her emotions as the tears started falling in tiny droplets. "Sheena, I don't want my title any longer. I don't want anyone to suffer with my title any longer. So..." He pulled out a black box from his pocket and opened it in front of her. "Would you give me the honor of being your lifelong friend, who cares for you every day as well as the pleasure of being looked after by you?"

Sheena smiled as her eyes filled with happiness while she jumping into his arms, forgetting the ring for the moment. "Oh, Zelos..." she murmured as the audience that was watching the show clapped their hands in admiration.

After the crowd had died down, the two were walking off together arm in arm. Zelos looked over at Sheena and gave her a small kiss before whispering, "Is this the final step to your plans?"

Sheena shook her head, her face still bright and cheerful. "No, it's the final step of the first chapter."

Fin

Ending Notes: Is it just me or my one-shots keep on increasing by length? Oh well, the longer the better! I hope there was no OOCness in this except the drunken Sheena. I wrote this one-shot dedicated to a friend, Shadow-Dragon5 for her birthday today, which is seven days after mines by coincidence. This one-shot was not to be tragic since she doesn't want it, or we would have seen Sheena dead or something (people who read "No Regrets" know what I mean). And I lie, Shad, but this will be the only one-shot that the ending is hinting towards marriage. Oh, special thanks to Lady Kumiko for being my beta reader. You rock! You're so helpful! R & R, love you all!