Chapter 1-A Departure & A Meeting

The rush of the wind came and blew a girl's pigtails back and forth. She giggled as the strands of golden hair tickled her neck and she swiftly brushed them away. She smiled again, trying to hide the fact that she was in pain, not physical pain, but the pain you feel when you realize that you wouldn't see the one you care about most for a long... long time. She put a balled up fist on her chest, as if to try and ease the pain away.

A young man gently look her hand and kissed it tenderly. "Hey, well my train's about to leave... so... I guess this is goodbye..."

The girl let her smile drop for the first time in the whole day. "Yeah... I'll really miss you Zelos."

"I'll miss you too, my little angel. But don't worry, the long distance thing is sure 'da work!" He laughed overly optimistic.

She smiled sweetly, "I believe you... with all my heart." She pressed down her yellow summer dress, the daisies on it seemed it just jump out of the fabric. It was the nicest outfit she had. Colette came from a very poor family so she didn't exactly have the most finest clothing. Her hair was brushed carefully and tied into two neat pigtails on each side of her head. Her favorite necklace was strung tightly around her neck. Probably the only thing of true value she had, the piece of jewelry was made of solid gold, and had a strange yet beautiful red jewel hanging down near the center. The design of it was so intricate and so mysterious.

The young girl wasn't very vain, but she wanted to look especially nice today. She blinked slowly, trying fruitlessly to stop the tears from leaking out of her sky blue eyes.

"Don't cry Colette. It'll be alright--" He paused and turned around. The roaring sound of the train blasted in his ears. The conductor was hurriedly ushering everyone aboard. Zelos knew it was time. He bent down to kiss her lightly, hoping that it would give her something to remember him by. Colette excepted the gesture, returning the kiss affectionately, savoring the moment.

The world seemed to stop around her, she couldn't hear the sound of people hurrying across the streets, or the conductor calling out orders. She was just alone in her own little magical world.

Zelos ended it sooner than she would have liked. Pulling back, he didn't miss the lost look filtering through her crystal blue eyes. He sighed.

The man grabbed his suitcases, his long red hair flowing in the wind, and scurried through the train entrance.

Colette's heart sank. Even though he was only out of her sight for a moment, she already started to feel terrible.

Zelos' head poked out of the window and he laughed in a very carefree way. "Goodbye Colette!" He waved as the train started to move away.

Colette waved back furiously until the bright red train was nothing more than a small dot in the distance. "Z-Zelos... I love you!"
But he was already too far away to hear.

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The blonde haired girl walked alone in the busy streets with her head drooped down, so many thoughts were coming to her mind at once.

But... it was meant to be... he had business to take care of... but… and... I wish he would have stayed. Her eyes lit up, a new thought racing to her mind like a jackrabbit.

What business...? He never told me. She instinctively shook her head. It doesn't matter. What matters is that... he's gone...

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"Now wasn't that a long trip, eh Genis?"

"Um... yes sir," came the reply of a small boy.

A tall young man, probably at the age of seventeen stepped out of a bus and into the bright morning sun. He stretched slowly and sighed. "Jeez, I'm hungry. Let's go get a bite to eat." He wore a fancy black suit and his hair was neatly combed, showing he was truly from a family of wealth.

A petite boy stood beside him, a peculiar-looking youngster with long white hair, khaki pants, and a dark green vest. "Sir, is that the first thing you think of whenever you step out of any door?" He couldn't help but show a bit of impudence towards his employer.

"Yep," he replied bluntly, and yet very proudly. "Come on, let's go!" The hazel-haired man ran off without another word.

"Ah! Wait for me!" The small boy couldn't help but fall far behind with his short legs, his heart pumped wildly against his chest with just a short run. "You know you can run faster than me! So just wait!"

Of course, the boy's master was too set on getting a meal to fill his rumbling belly than to listen to a measly plea of help.

The young man zoomed across the streets, nearly running into nearby residence over a dozen times. The thought never came to him that he couldn't just keep running around like a maniac the whole time without any accidents. Before long, he collided face first into a young girl.

First came a loud squeak of surprise, then the thud of two bodies hitting the ground, and finally the sound of a hard, metal-like substance clanging the concrete floor.

The first to get up was the male victim. He groaned sadly and offered a helping hand to the girl. "Um... I'm sorry miss."

The girl accepted his help and unhurriedly stood up. She sighed as she brushed the dirt off her dress. Her expression changed dramatically as she looked up at him. "No, no, it's perfectly fine. It was my fault that I wasn't watching where I was going." She did a fake little giggle and her eyes sparkled with pure innocence. "I'm sorry. And um... I have to go. I just realized that my parents are going to be worried if I don't get back soon." She silently hurried off.

He turned around and noticed a necklace laying on the ground. "Hey... wait! Your necklace!" He called to her as he lunged down, grabbed the necklace and chased after her.

Sadly, he noticed all too well that she had already left on the bus home. The man scurried towards a nearby woman. "Where does that bus lead to?"

"Iselia Street, about a few miles away." The woman mumbled absent mindedly, completely absorbed into newspaper before her eyes.

A young child approached them, panting wildly. "S-sir... w-what... are you going to do... n...now...?" He fell onto the floor in a heap.

"I'm going to look for the nearest bus stop to get to Iselia Street."

"That's not a good idea lad. That's about four miles away." The older woman mumbled again, flipping the pages of the newspaper.

"Too late." Genis sighed as he pointed at the figure already starting to run far, far away...