The March of Hearts

Note: I meant to post this on Valentine's Day, but did not ever seem to find the energy to do so. Now that I have been finding my inspiration once more, here it is! Better late than never.

Lloyd woke in the middle of the night with a stir, louder than usual as he sat up straight. He was in the hotel in Meltokio, what could possibility threaten them in the heart of the city? Despite this thought running through his mind in the split second, he knew it would serve him no good to underestimate the reach of Mithos.

With that moment of hesitation out of the way, he grabbed the swords that hung over the bed post of his bed and dashed out with amazing speed, grabbing the doorknob and practically slamming the door open as he pulled his swords out with such force that the sheaths flew out and hit against the wall, the morning sun gleaming off the edges as he looked down both sides of the hallway, just in time to see a body fly out from Sheena's bedroom.

A disposed threat, perhaps?

He knew that Sheena would not be easy to catch off guard, although playing the role of slightly clumsy in her footing from time to time, her senses were always sharp and Lloyd braced for anything more that could come their way.

Watching the body slide down the wall actually made Lloyd drop his guard as he breathed out a slight sigh of relief while seeing the red haired swordsman grab his head while expressing an overly dramatic display of pain.

"Oooowwww, Sheenaaaaaa, no way to treat a chosen." The man said in whimpering tone that also expressed a hint of pleading for mercy.

A piece of paper suddenly flew out from the doorway and stuck to the floor below Zelos as the man looked down, blinked a couple times before panic set in as he attempted to bolt away from the strip of paper, but curse the rug for not providing the proper traction for his boots as the carpet only rolled up under his feet as he slipped and fell face first on the floor just as the Pyre Seal exploded below the man; helping his escape attempt by launching him into the air like a projectile.

Lloyd side-stepped casually as Zelos flew passed the man and fell down to the first floor checkout lobby below. Although Lloyd did not have any hard feelings towards the efforts of the pervert, he could not help but smile as he walked towards the hand railing, placing his swords to the side as he leaned his forearms on the cold wood and looked down below as Zelos remained face down on the floor below, giving a light laughter to himself before feeling a presence beside him, hearing the heavy breathing of the one he knew as Sheena.

"AND NEXT TIME…I WON'T STOP AT ONE SEAL! YOU GOT ME! HEY! YOU LISTENING?! PERVERT!" Sheena huffed out in anger as Lloyd saw her hand extend out, pointing towards Zelos as she exclaimed her protest towards him.

"Guy won't stop huh?" Lloyd joked as his eyes followed her arm up towards her flustered face, red from provocation and hair still in a mess from a night's sleep.

Sheena's eyes suddenly shot him a slight death glare, a little taste of what Zelos had to endure every time and this actually made Lloyd jump a bit as he raised his hands up passively, about to vocalize a contraction on his previous statement before he felt her hand ball up his black muscle shirt as she pulled him close to her and it was that moment Lloyd realized the scary strength she had when she was mad as Lloyd felt his feet drag against the ground and now he was almost nose to nose with the infuriated ninja as his eyes widened.

"What was that, Irving?!" Sheena growled slightly as she kept him pulled close, challenging him to speak out as Lloyd swallowed once.

"Whoa, whoa…Sheena…I….I didn't do anything." Lloyd flustered as he waved his hands in an innocent manner.

A couple more huffs from the ninja filled the air of silence as Lloyd pondered what fate awaited him after his response, never seeing Sheena so worked up from an antic of Zelos before, meaning he must have went a little over the line, even for him.

Lloyd's mind slowly calmed however as he watched as the eyes of Sheena softened and it was like she realized who she was pointing her aggression at as her grip loosened and it was now her turn to swallow nervously as she raised a hand to the back of her head and rubbed slightly, the infuriated red on her cheeks turning to a blush of embarrassment as she glanced to the side.

"I…sorry…I…well…" Sheena fumbled as she found herself in a socially awkward situation. She was not used to men being like Lloyd and being genuine with their expressions, words, and actions. Lloyd always somehow knocked her off guard as she glanced over to him and gave an almost sheepish smile. "Forgive me?"

Lloyd blinked and absently straightened his muscle shirt as he gave her a laughter and raised his own hand to rub the back of his head in a nervous manner.

"Forgive you? Your goof. For what?" Lloyd laughed out before looking back to her.

Sheena could not help but give a slight smile to the remark, the man was so easy to deal with and so effortless to enjoy the company of.

Lloyd blinked once as he looked at Sheena, he had never seen her with her hair down before, messy as it was, it looked…striking in a manner. It seemed like that now that he noticed it, he could not keep himself from noting it, the subtle shine of purple in her hair, it hung down just passed her shoulders and down her back a little ways.

"Oh…uh…I never…seen your hair down before." Lloyd absently commented as he gave a slight smile.

That moment was short lived however as he watched the expression of Sheena go from a slight calmness to sudden panic as if his comment struck fear into her, that made Lloyd nervous as his smile faded quickly; before he could try and ask her what was the matter, he noticed Sheena pulled her nightgown closed over her chest and her face lit up in crimson as she let out a breathless gasp.

"Oh Martel!" Sheena blurt out and before Lloyd could interject, Sheena dashed back to her room and closed the door, even with the speed she run off in, her footsteps remained surprisingly silent as Lloyd blinked a couple times.

"…What did I say?" Lloyd blinked as one of the other doors opened.

Raine appeared, seemed she was delayed from joining the commotion sooner due to making sure she was properly clothed in his signature robes as she stepped out from the bedroom and folded her arms while surveying the hallway, then looking to Lloyd in the silent teachers disapproval.

"I…I didn't do this, Professor." Lloyd confessed, feeling like he was back in school all over again with that look that Raine gave.

"People are trying to sleep, Lloyd." Raine said as she dusted off her robe and walked back into her room.

"…But…I didn't do…anything." Lloyd frowned as he slumped his shoulders for a moment, grabbing his swords while slowly returning to his room.

Zelos left twitching on the ground floor below, smoke trails still floating off his body as he raised his hand slowly, as if trying to grab a helping hand that was not there.

"Help….somebody…." he whimpered.