Simple Oyako
It was dark out and the young red-clad teen had gone to search for his friend, Colette, the fledgling angel, after he was told that she had gone out for some fresh air. The stars glittered above as Lloyd stared out at the surrounding land covered with a light dew as he sat on a precariously placed boulder after giving up on his search for his childhood friend. Something just seemed out of place about her disappearance and he had sat down some time ago, contemplating the reasons.
However, his mind had wandered as he found himself staring at the small stone attached to his hand. His Exsphere, as it was called, was different from others. It held a strange familiarity and warmth that he felt shouldn't be present, although it still had the same effect... It made him stronger, by increasing his strength and agility. There had to be something more though, for his adoptive father, Dirk, a dwarf who lived not far from the village of Iselia, had tried desperately to hide it from the sight of any others.
He stood now, aware that the once black sky was now beginning to lighten in color, signifying the approaching dawn. Perhaps Colette had returned by now. There was only one way to find out.
Walking back in the general direction of the campsite where they had decided to stop, he paused for a moment when he thought he saw a slight flash of blue. He started to turn towards the source of the strange sight when he heard his name being called by his obviously worried friends. He sighed, relieved, when he heard a familiar voice among them. Colette had returned and was helping the others search for him. There was no point in staying here any longer, so he moved on without hesitation, despite the fact that he felt like he was being watched.
Once he had reached the camp and reunited with his friends, he realized that another member of the group was missing. The auburn mercenary, Kratos Aurion, had yet to return. This didn't concern him though, as the others had paid little mind. This however, changed when he felt a hand on his shoulder which apparently belonged to the purple-clad mercenary whom he had thought was gone.
"Hey, Kratos!" Lloyd smiled cheerfully, showing his carefree attitude that had been hidden most of the night. His expression faded though when he saw how stern the mercenary beside him was. "Is something wrong?"
"You shouldn't wander off like that and you should never let you're guard down." He released his grip from the boy's shoulder and stepped away silently to sit on the other side of the campsite, his eyes never leaving the young dual-swordsman.
"Okay..." Lloyd's voice trailed off into the dense air of the night as he sensed another presence. Looking up, he found his youngest friend, Genis, standing next to him concerned.
"Is everything okay? Kratos didn't look happy." The small half-elf took a seat on the cold ground by the brunette and sighed in dismay when he didn't get an answer.
"Something about him seems a little...off..." Lloyd tilted his head in confusion as he stared across the fire, noticing that Kratos had moved to another position while he took his place as the night watch. His thoughts had shifted to the fact that the cold and silent mercenary had been picking out details in the young swordsman's life that needed improving and as of late his eyes held some foreign concern that somehow felt familiar to the boy.
"Maybe you remind him of someone..." Genis offered his answer to Lloyd's confused gaze but shook his head afterwards when he noticed that Lloyd wasn't listening. "Lloyd."
"I heard you. It's just..." It seemed that Lloyd had recognized the sigh Genis had given and managed to respond. This was to the silver-haired half-elf's amazement. Lloyd shook his head as though to dismiss a thought but turned to Genis and inquired about his odd comment. "Do you think…that he had a kid at one point?"
"Why don't you ask him?" Genis stood and walked back to his older sister, Raine, after this as though to avoid protest or further questioning. It seemed as though Genis' pride always got the better of him when it came to questions he just couldn't answer.
Lloyd repositioned himself so that he was lying on the flat of his back with his arms behind his head. Maybe he would ask Kratos tomorrow. He was simply too tired to do so tonight. With a sigh he silenced his thoughts and gazed longingly at the stars. It seemed that memories of his own father were there, just out of his reach. He closed his eyes and allowed his now calm mind to drift off into a soft slumber.
Lloyd awoke with a soft yawn and peered around the campsite to see that the others were still asleep. His eyes glanced over each of their sleeping forms and he soon found that one was not adrift in slumber. Kratos Aurion was still standing guard over the small group and keeping watch over the horizon.
Lloyd wanted to talk to him, but his thoughts had shifted to the strange dream that had invaded his mind the night before. He couldn't recall anything clearly. The only thing that seemed to stick out in his mind, was the angel. There was a tall and mysterious angel that had appeared as a blurred image in his mind during his peaceful slumber. He had celestial blue wings that seemed to have an aura of warmth and compassion. He imagined that it was his guardian angel that had come to watch over him.
Smiling now, the swordsman stood and approached the mercenary. He was somewhat surprised that the man had turned as though he had heard him coming. Lloyd found this strange since he had been virtually silent as he stepped towards Kratos, whose face was shadowed as he stood with his back turned to the rising sun. The silhouette seemed so familiar to the dual swordsman, but he couldn't place it.
"Lloyd...?" Kratos asked confused as to why the boy was up so early.
"I wanted to talk to you last night, but I didn't get the chance." Lloyd shrugged and had stopped in place as he watched his elder step silently forward. When he had decided that Kratos wasn't going to respond he offered, "I thought that since you're still up and all..."
"Lloyd..." Kratos' eyes shifted to the ground and his tone was one of exasperation.
"You're right... You should probably get some rest." Lloyd turned to leave after saying this, but froze when he heard his companion call out to him with a sigh.
"I am tired, but I have more than enough strength to listen. What is it, Lloyd?" he asked, his voice gentle and soft. He smiled when the boy's eyes lit up in comfort and happiness that hadn't been present there since the journey had begun. With a light chuckle he added, "Perhaps we should go for a walk. There is no need to wake the others. I'm certain that the chosen needs this rest."
"Yeah, Colette's been through a lot. These seals are taking a lot out of her. Come on, let's go this way," the boy said as he began to lead the way, following a small clearing that led them farther from their sleeping friends.
They walked for some time, passing trees and various rocks placed in peculiar places. They seemed to be following the sound of a babbling brook as they continued forward with the dual swordsman leading the way with a goofy smile plastered on his face. This in turn, made the mercenary smile for reasons unknown to the younger of the two. Soon the small creek, which was deeper than a stream but not quite a river, appeared through the clearing. After walking alongside it for a few minutes, Lloyd had stopped and turned to face his elder.
"What did you wish to speak about, Lloyd?" asked Kratos with a small hint of concern in his voice which somehow reassured the boy before him as he began to step forward.
"Well it's just... I've been wondering-" His words were cut short as he fell into the creek due to his lack of an attention span. Had he heeded the words of the mercenary and kept his guard up, he would have noticed the edge of the bank he was walking on begin to crumble beneath him. As matters stood, however, his tendency to ignore the man had ended with his abrupt fall.
Kratos had dashed forward immediately after the boy's blunder but gave a silent sigh of relief when the latter suddenly stood in the waist-deep water gasping for air. He shivered as he laughed nervously at Kratos who simply stared with wide-eyed shock. Lloyd waded toward him but this only caused his mentor to retreat a step in awe-inspired surprise.
"Kratos... What's-" Lloyd stopped mid-sentence when he caught sight of his reflection in rippling liquid beneath him.
"Lloyd... You..." Kratos' words paused half-way into his throat as he stared at the figure before his ruby eyes.
"Man... I look just like you! Heck, people might even think that I was your son or something." Lloyd laughed lightly but stopped when he noticed the devastated look Kratos had given him when he began laughing at the thought.
"..."
"Kratos? Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Kratos began to turn back and follow the path they had previously taken.
"Wait!" Lloyd ran the older man who had paused at his command before continuing, "Actually, this has something to do with what I had wanted to talk to you about."
Kratos glanced up suddenly, a relieved look in his eyes as he noticed that Lloyd was too distracted with fixing his hair and removing that which was preventing sight from his eye to notice the shocked gasp that Kratos had released only moments before. With a small smile at Lloyd's attempts, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Last night, I got to thinking and..."
"That's new," Kratos said with a light chuckle.
"Hey! Anyway, I was sort of wondering...if maybe you..." Lloyd looked to the side before giving up completely on his hair and asking, "Do you... Or at least... That is... Have you ever...had any...kids?"
"Why do you ask?" Kratos' eyes held a suspicion that Lloyd could only place as a form of fear.
"I just wanted to know. So, did you?" Lloyd stepped closer curiously.
"A son." Kratos' response was short. It should have been obvious to anyone that he didn't wish to speak any farther in the topic. But it was also obvious that Lloyd wished for him to continue.
"Really? I find that hard to believe."
"Why's that?"
"You just don't seem to be the 'family' kind of guy...you know?"
Kraots sighed and shook his head disapprovingly at his young apprentice. His eyes were cold and hard again, stoic but sorrowful. Lloyd just couldn't take a hint, could he? But this didn't seem to matter as the boy had motioned for the older of the two to sit down by the flow of the water after taking a seat himself.
"I'm sorry. But that is not a subject that I wish to speak about."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Lloyd looked around for a moment, and then inquired, "It's nice out here isn't it?"
"Yes, it's quite peaceful." Kratos' eyes were glazed over as he had apparently mentally left this world. He became lost in his memories for some time, but eventually looked over to Lloyd. Standing he stated, "We should return to the others."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'll bet that they're all awake and probably worried by now."
"Indeed," was his only response as the youth joined him, and they returned to camp. During some point of their walk Kratos had turned with a smile and said, "Perhaps you should do something about that hair of yours."
"I'm not worried about it. It'll spike itself when it dries." Lloyd lightly tossed his damp hair upwards to show the man ahead of him that it couldn't be helped.
"Let's hope that the others agree."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Lloyd sprinted forward somewhat so that he was walking directly beside Kratos.
"Never mind," said Kratos as he released an exasperated sigh.
Upon reaching the camp, they were met with the gasps of two half-elves and the chosen of mana. Lloyd only smiled at their shocked faces. He smirked for a moment when an idea came to mind.
"You know what, Kratos?"
"What is it Lloyd?" Kratos' eyebrows were raised in a curious confusion.
"I think I'll keep it this way."
Everyone eyed Lloyd with shocked faces and he laughed with silent thoughts echoing in his mind. 'Now I even look like my hero.' He smiled at Kratos for a brief moment and they prepared to leave for the next seal. Together.