Disclaimer: Uh, nope. Don't own Soul Calibur.

Author's Note: Randomly inspired when I found out that my Gamecube memory card, which contained my Soul Calibur II file, has mysteriously disappeared. So I started playing the entire thing again on a spare memory card. I'll admit it was refreshing to play again, especially with good old Link! –heart-… But ya. Just another short, random oneshot from yours truly. I'm sorry it's so short and crappy, it just absolutely, positively refused to be written, but hopefully the… cuteness? However small it is, will make up for it. POINTLESS FLUFF!! And I started this way before Valentine's Day but seeing as its being posted on Valentine's Day… -shifty eyes- Happen Valentine's Day? XD


SUMMER DREAM


"What do you think that looks like?"

"Mm, looks like a sword to me."

Talim quirked an eyebrow and looked to her friend. Her arms were folded across her stomach, pressing against the clothing firmly. She could feel sweat slowly slide down her skin due to the heat, and her black hair stubbornly stick to her face, "A sword? Are you sure that it looks like a sword?"

Her companion, Yun-seong, produced a cheesy grin and nodded, looking at her from the corner of his brown eyes, "That's exactly what I'm saying, Talim. That cloud looks exactly like a sword, and you know it."

She blinked and moved a little closer to him, clearing her throat. Her arm pressed against his, she adjusted her line of sight, and raised her other hand to point to the cloud shape she was talking about, "That cloud right there?"

He followed her arm from his higher perspective, but then realised that it would probably mislead him. The Korean hunched over, reducing the height difference between them, and looked again. With a slight nod, he spoke firmly, a hint of a smile in his voice, "Yeah, that one right there. It looks like a sword to me."

"Really? I think it looks more like a tonfa than it does a sword… To me, anyway."

"You're just saying that because you use tonfas."

"Well I can easily accuse you of the same thing. You use a sword, it makes sense!"

"Well, swords are way more common than tonfas," he reminded her, sneering teasingly. As her arm lowered, he stood up straight again and resumed his former position, resting his forearms on the wooden fence before him. He listened out for a retort, but was met with pure silence, aside from the gentle murmurs of the wind.

A few moments later, he frowned a little, realising that his close friend was not going to rise to the challenge. He was so looking forward to a come back. Oh well, better luck next time, he guessed. He couldn't win them all.

It took him a few more moments to realise that she wasn't taking the bait because there was something else on her mind. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and looked to her, noticing that she was simply staring off into the distance. He cleared his throat and spoke once more, "Talim? You okay?"

"The ritual… I am nervous about it."

Ah, of course. There was that kid here that was infected with the Sword Of Salvation's 'sinister' energy, as a result of his Father, who also had been infected by the 'Evil Seed'. In his opinion, the sword wasn't evil at all, but whatever. The poor thing had been subjected to various tests with the fragment, along with a majority of the other children that were with him in the village. Talim had tried various times to treat him, but to no avail.

Yun-seong patted her shoulder, squeezing it a little, "You'll do fine! That kid will be as good as new."

"But it is such a drastic treatment," she replied, looking at him, "What if I kill him?"

"I doubt that'll happen. You gotta think positive, and then everything will be okay, trust me."

She nodded slightly, silently wishing that she had his optimism on the situation. She had learnt to fear Soul Edge, but upon meeting this young man, who wished to harness it to protect his country… she wasn't as scared as she previously had been. Unfortunately, where as his entry into her life was positive in that regard, she was yet to deter him from seeking the cursed sword.

He had to be stopped, before it was too late, but it seemed that just by coming to this village, he had been deterred from his initial quest. He had found a friend in the last Wind Priestess, and enjoyed staying in the village with the children. He had even befriended the poor, infected child, and shown him that he was worthy of treatment by getting him to look into his sword, White Storm, which showed what or who the wielder truly was inside.

But in the time that Yun-seong had been here, she couldn't help but become attached to him. She often wondered if he felt the same – after all, his attentions were wholly devoted to her and the children. Surely one who acted in such a manner must have some type of feelings for the other individual, right? It couldn't have just been a summer dream.

"Taaaaaaaliiiiiiim? Are you sure you're alright?" the singsong-ing man queried.

"It's just the ritual!" she reassured, though failing miserably without knowing, "Honestly."

"Well, don't chicken out about it. Like I said before, you'll do fine!"

"Mm."

"Anything else bothering you?"

The young girl shook her head and turned to look at her friend, "No, there is absolutely nothing else bothering me."

The Korean also turned to look at her, and for a moment her breath was caught. The sun had illuminated his red hair in an eerie yet grand orange glow, making it a lighter colour than it should've been. The light also caught the orange of his garments, highlighting them. In hopes of resisting the little spell, she turned away to look at the water. The sun reflected off of it, and it was as though its reflection rippled towards them, as they stood overhead by the lake in the village.

A hand suddenly appeared in her line of vision cautiously, as though unsure if should be there at all. It moved towards her chin, grabbing it gently, tilting it back towards the face of the owner. She allowed her head to follow the direction, and before long, brown met brown, and she was staring up into his concerned visage.

What are you going to do? she thought, biting her tongue. Judging by the determined look, it could've been something big.

Regardless of the situation, she still found her gaze falling to his lips. Not a good sign.

He moved closer, and for a moment, she felt as though her heart had stopped working. Soon he was so close that she could feel his breath on her face, and she wanted more of it. Inhaling his breath silently wasn't really doing the trick. It was like breathing in too much smoke – it made her head spin continuously, and it made her feel as though she could sprout wings and soar.

The wind picked up slightly, causing her black hair to ruffle in the breeze. She could feel heat rise to her cheeks and started to feel very subconscious about herself. Why did she have to be so short? Why didn't she tie her plaits extra tightly today? Why did she have to choose something so… so –

A hand.

She got worked up over a hand.

For goodness sake, it looked as though he was going to kiss her.

That fantasy, however, she could only see in her dreams.

Yun-seong furrowed his eyebrows and waved his free hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. She blinked rapidly, took a step back and cleared her throat, smoothing her hair down and readjusting her clothes. Once done, she crossed both of her arms across her stomach and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry. My mind is just one big… mess."

He looked at her blankly and shrugged, "Whatever you say."

Silence swept over the two of them, binding them tightly, choking them until there was no air left. The two looked back over towards the sun, watching it set and seemingly sink below the water's surface. That was the original reason they came out here – it was peaceful and quiet, just what they had been looking for recently. The hustle and bustle of looking after all those children became too much, so they decided to take a break for themselves and return before dinner. After all, the scene was a nice place for a summer dream.

"You know what that cloud there looks like?" he suddenly remarked, pointing.

Talim squinted at the cloud in question, wondering what it could have possibly looked like. To her, it looked like absolutely… nothing.

"Looks like a pair of lips to me."

Looking again, she saw them, though barely. Then again, he was always much more imaginative in these things than she was. He just had a better imagination than her, end of story. She sucked at this game, badly. Earlier, she saw a cloud that she swore looked like a tree, though her counterpart could not see it from any angle. Breaking up the silence, she spoke, "I see it now."

"Yeah, though they suck compared to yours. I'd like to inspect yours from a closer viewpoint."

She did nothing but smile to herself, unaware of the Korean closing in again.

Summer dream.