Healing the Wounded Heart

I finally came up with a story based off of Tales of Symphonia! .:squee:. Yay! Anyway, this fic is about the Kratos/Raine pairing, and the rating might go higher later on (MIGHT).The chapters are going to be kind of short sometimes (I don't want to cram in useless description and information just to make it longer), so please bear with me. Yep, short and to-the-point chapters! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, 'kay?


A young, half-elfin woman walked along the beach in the resort of Altamira, the Seaside Paradise. Her silver hair hung messily above her shoulders and her periwinkle eyes glimmered in the evening light. She wore a long orange coat with black lining over a white shirt and dark pants. She stepped slowly across the warm sand, keeping a distance away from the ocean waves.

Raine Sage, the healer, the teacher, the archeological mania, was deathly afraid of water. She hated going out to sea or being close to the large, open ocean where she could fall in and drown anytime. She hated the cold, wintry waves, the warm, summer waves, or the sensation of rushing water over bare skin – she hated it all.

An accident at sea when she was very young made a part of her heart close up. Outside of that part, her fear of water drifted around, and her old thoughts on it remained locked up. It was like being overpowered by your fear and your power over it was sealed away – out of reach. Not that Raine desperately wanted to get over it or anything. When you were afraid of something, you never really thought about getting over that fear. You felt only desperateness when you were met with it; feeling only the urge and need to run away.

An innocent little girl being washed away by deathly cold water – that's what Raine was at the time of the accident. Her thoughts had swiftly reverted from a love of splashing the cool water of a stream to trembling whenever she saw a body of the clear blue liquid. She feared of enjoying the feeling of ocean breezes blowing across her hair or admiring the sun as it sparkled on the sea. Something that made most people happy wasn't avoided very often. But the silver-haired woman had had a lonely and dark past, so naturally she was different than most people.

You can't run away from your fears forever, Raine Sage.

Raine stopped short in her tracks. She froze and her face turned pale.

"W-what?" she whispered, her voice filled with fear.

You know I'm right. Look – look at that beautiful ocean ahead of you. Wouldn't you like to ride while enjoying the water itself one day? You can't if you're going to cower at the sight of it.

The half-elf's eyes darted back and forth with surprise. "I . . ." she said softly, trying to keep calm. She sat down and shook her head. ". . . We have the Rheairds."

. . . Oh? Didn't you enjoy the rides on the Elemental Cargo before you got the Rheairds?"

Raine was growing calmer by the minute. What right did a little voice in her head have to question her? "Elemental Cargo? Don't even remind me . . ." she muttered, sighing. "No, I didn't enjoy those rides, not at all . . ."

You didn't? But wasn't the sight of the sun glittering on the ocean simply breathtaking?

"Breathtaking wouldn't be the word for it," the silver-haired woman replied. She found it awfully strange that she was talking to herself – or rather, her conscience. "More like . . . strange. I have never found the ocean particularly beautiful . . ."

Still won't admit it, huh? The voice in her head persisted. You know you hate water, well, more like are horrified of it.

What? Now Raine was totally confused. Her eyes widened with surprise. "I . . . I'm NOT afraid of water!" she said firmly.

The voice seemed to disappear after that. Raine gave a short gasp and then followed with a sigh of relief. That was close . . .

The moon shone brightly above her, creating rougher waves. The professor backed off and looked at the sky. Stars were beginning to twinkle and the beach was about to close. She tried to get her mind off of the subject and onto something more enjoyable.

Kratos . . .

She jerked up. Why would she be thinking about Kratos, that traitor, at this moment? It didn't make her any happier to think of him. Actually, it made her sadder because whenever she thought of him, she also thought about his betrayal.

The Cruxis angel confused her. He always acted so mysterious and cold. Raine, being a teacher and an expert in archeology, didn't usually have much trouble analyzing things or people. She had always been suspicious about him, but it was always so hard to figure out his real intentions when she tried. It was like trying to figure out the origins of an artifact that was found far away from the place it was made.

And then the group had encountered him several times throughout Tethe'alla; his intentions had always been unknown. They had met a woman in the Green Meadows Inn in Ozette who had spoke of a "handsome swordsman" who was staying at the village. Apparently, the swordsman was Kratos, and he had asked the woman about sacred wood. Then, they encountered him in Meltokio, and he asked Presea if sacred wood only grew near Ozette.

Raine was confused and awed about how Kratos could hide what he was doing so easily. But it seemed as if he did that naturally to save himself trouble. And Lloyd, that not-so-bright student of hers, amused her. He became angry whenever they encountered the angel and demanded if he was after Colette. Of course, Raine had been worried and annoyed too, but her temper hadn't gone flaring out like Lloyd's had . . .

Before his betrayal, Raine loved to stay up at night and chat with Kratos about archeology. He often offered to serve as night watch, and he seemed to know a lot about ancient ruins and Summon Spirits. The half-elf had never gotten the chance to really talk to anyone about her favorite subject, since most people didn't show much interest in it either. They'd sometimes talk for long hours and none of them ever seemed to get bored. Raine developed a close relationship with the mercenary this way, well, it was closer than any of the other group members had with him.

It was good that she had stayed up to talk almost every other night, because after they visited the Tower of Salvation, she had been lacking a friend to talk to about archeology. It had taken awhile to get used to missing chats about her passion; she often woke in the middle of the night, only to find Regal or Lloyd on night watch.

I thought we were friends . . . the professor thought bitterly, memories flooding back to her at the thought of nightly chats with Kratos.

She heard footsteps on the sands and turned to see a young female lifeguard approaching her.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said, tapping her on the shoulder. "The beach is closing for today. Please, get off of the sand."

Raine blinked a few times before getting her message clearly. She nodded. "Right, I'm terribly sorry," she apologized, standing up. She walked off of the beach area and approached the Elemental Railway. It only ran to the casino and theater area in the evening, and since she had nowhere else interesting to go except back to the inn, she decided to take a ride.

She approached the keeper and got on.

"En route to casino and theater area?" the boy asked.

"Yes," the professor said with a nod. The lights of the boat clicked on, and then it began moving towards the destined location.


A dark figure stood on the bridge connecting the casino area with the theater. Long locks of auburn hair fell over his face, almost completely covering his left eye. He wore a purple suit with a sword tucked into its sheath but ready to strike. His brown eyes were as emotionless as the expression he wore on his face. He was leaning against the railing of the bridge, staring at his reflection in the deep blue ocean below.

This was Kratos Aurion, a hero of the Ancient Kharlan War, one of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis, and an angel who had lived for over 4,000 years. Those many years of life had been mostly of grief, sorrow, guilt, and anger. He hadn't expressed any kind of happiness in a long time. He had almost forgotten what it had felt like to laugh, to be carefree and to feel joy.

What do I see? He thought bitterly to himself, staring at his reflection in the deep blue water. The waves rolled gently towards the shore, splashing gently and creating ripples in the water. The image of him blurred slightly and the moonlight behind him dimmed.

He saw himself, but was it really himself that he was looking at? Ever since he lost his wife Anna, and supposedly his son Lloyd, whom he had found, he had become a totally different person. He had been reverted from being warm and encouraging to cold and cautious. He trusted no one but himself any longer; he couldn't risk losing anymore than he already had.

Now he had almost forgotten what he was truly like. What his personality was before losing Anna, before Mithos became crazy over the death of his sister Martel and split the world apart, before the end of the Ancient Kharlan War. He was looking at the mask he had put over himself after all those tragedies. His real self was sealed away, past a wall of solid ice inside his heart. No warmth had melted that ice for so long that Kratos almost felt it belonged there, as if this literally emotionless person, who was supposed to be his mask, was really him.

I'm such a fool, the auburn-haired man thought. First I betray Lloyd and the others, and then I betray Mithos. Whose side am I really on?

Another thought hit his mind . . . Raine?

She had looked so hurt when he betrayed them at the Tower of Salvation. She had been reluctant to fight him, probably because he had helped them and was their former companion, but the others were angry and willing to battle. Kratos could recall the memory clearly . . .

Flashback

"Now Colette is merely a puppet standing before death's door," Kratos stated in his deep voice. He couldn't believe he was saying such things. He knew it was the truth, and what he should've been saying at the moment, but he couldn't believe he was saying it to them. His son, Lloyd, Lloyd's teacher, Raine, and all his former friends. The entire group looked shocked at his words.

"Kratos! Where've you been?" Lloyd looked extremely worried and confused. His brown eyes flashed fiercely. The seraph knew that he would draw his swords sooner or later. "What're you talking about?"

Kratos' face remained at its emotionless state. He crossed his arms and continued. "The Chosen desired the regeneration of the world and chose this path herself. By the summoning of the Chosen to Derris-Kharlan, the seal will be broken and the regeneration will be complete. It is what you – Lloyd, wanted as well." His gaze fell upon Raine and her hurt expression. The rod in her hand was trembling. Kratos mentally slapped himself for hurting everyone who he had helped.

"We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel," he pressed on, ignoring his feelings. He realized how bad he sounded, how meaningless his words were. Words not spoken from his heart, words without soul . . .

He wished he could tell the truth for once, to tell what he was really thinking. He was tired of following orders. He wanted to make his own decisions . . .

Lloyd ran up to him and Raine turned away. "Kratos . . ." he muttered angrily. "Who . . . who are you?"

"I am of Cruxis, the organization which guides this world," the mercenary replied calmly. "I am one of the Four Seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen."

"You mean . . ." Genis, the young half-elfin mage murmured. ". . . Kratos is an angel, too?"

"You deceived us!" Sheena, the dark-haired summoner cried. She whipped her cards out and glared at him.

"Deceived you?" Kratos scoffed, but inside he was filling up with regret. "If the Chosen merges with Martel, she will awaken, and the world will be saved. Is that not what you wanted too?"

Raine closed her eyes hurtfully. She muttered something, "Once her body is taken by the Goddess Martel, Colette will truly die."

"No," the seraph said coldly. He wouldn't usually disagree with the professor, but now he had no choice. "She will be reborn as Martel."

"Dammit! You think I'm gonna let you do that? Colette's our friend!" Lloyd drew his swords and stared at Kratos with an anger that the angel had never seen from the boy before.

He glanced at Raine, who was still turned around.

I'm sorry . . .

End Flashback

Kratos sighed. After that terrifying day, he had often awoken with nightmares starting out as a peaceful nighttime chat with Raine on archeology, and then she would start yelling at him and slapping him for his betrayal. It scared him out of his wits; you did not want to get the professor angry. She was as violent to her students and anyone who angered her as Sheena was to Zelos.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a voice, "Kratos?"

He turned around with his hand on his sword, ready to strike if it was an enemy.

He saw someone who he had never thought he would see in Altamira.

It was Raine. Her silver hair glittered in the moonlight and her periwinkle eyes were filled with confusion and surprise. Her orange coat swayed gently in the night breeze. She didn't look any different from when he had last seen her.

Kratos felt surprised as well, but he wouldn't let himself show it. He swallowed back his thoughts and spoke in his masked, cold, emotionless voice. "Raine. What are you doing here?"


So how was it? Please R&R and tell me what you thought about it! Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please don't flame without reason! If you're going to flame (for some weird reason), tell me WHY you are flaming me. So it won't be some pointless message, okay? Thanks.