Howdy it is I, Shell. I've decided to stop doing the other fanfic I started "When Evil Prevails" cos it was kinda boring. But this one is better. Much better! This is just the first bit, I've got more but I haven't proof read it yet. Let me know what you think of this, I really appreciate your constructive comments so please read and review.

And on another note: This is a disclaimer, Soul Calibur and also the lovely Soul Calibur 2 are property of Namco, not me, I'm just a humble writer trying to make my way in the world...

Now let's get on with it shall we?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I giveth thee Soul Calibur: Tournament of the Heart

Chapter 1

With Kali Yuga firmly in his grip and his enemy clearly in sight, Kilik braced himself, preparing to attack. He wiped his feet on the gravely, dusty ground like an angry bull and narrowed his eyes, barring his teeth.

He inhaled one short, last breath before he ran forward at full speed, reliable Kali Yuga poised to perfection.

"Stop!" cried a voice; the owner of the voice waved his hands furiously. "You're running too fast!" the voice persisted with a panicked tone. "Kilik, you'll kill us both!"

With that Kilik screeched to a halt, sending a cloud of dust in the air. His opponent was knocked over. "Oops, sorry Maxi," Kilik said, helping his old friend up off the ground and dusted him off.

"I swear if one hair is out of place..." Maxi grumbled, smoothing over his black, oiled up hair.

"It's fine, stop worrying, nobody's looking anyway..." Kilik replied with a smirk. Maxi was always one to obsess over his looks, unlike himself, who was in fact covered in mud and his hair was very untidy.

But Kilik was mistaken. A girlish laughter could be heard as Talim approached. Talim was a very beautiful young girl of 18. Her hair was blue in colour and shone magnificently in the sunlight. Her eyes were of deepest brown and interestingly large, surrounded by curling black eyelashes. A softly tanned skin covered her delicate frame. She was small for a girl of her age, but she was strong, agile and fast.

She walked over to Maxi and embraced him in an "aww-poor-Maxi-fell-over-are- you-okay?" hug. Maxi blushed slightly. He never blushed. Never. Kilik was becoming suspicious. He let out a little knowledgeable "Ohh..." causing Maxi to shoot him a vicious "no-it's-not-like-that" look over Talim's shoulder, even though it was totally obvious it was like that and they both knew it.

"Are you alright, Maxi? I saw you fall over," Talim said giggling slightly as she asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," Maxi replied, smoothing his hair down subconsciously. He looked down on himself, checking his white suit for any dust stains.

"So... are we going to the tournament or what?" Kilik asked as he tried climbing up Kali Yuga.

"What is it with you and that tournament?" Talim asked curiously, scratching the back of her neck.

"Well it's in Turkey isn't it...?" Maxi said smirking. It was Kilik's turn to shoot the "no-it's-not-like-that" look, as he just about balanced on top of Kali Yuga.

"What's in Turkey? ... And how are you doing that?" Talim inquired as she watched Kilik stretch his arms out.

"Find your centre of balance and you can do anything..." he wobbled, "Ahh!" he fell off the rod and landed on the hard ground with an almighty thud. He sat up and rubbed his head.

Maxi laughed. "What's in Turkey? I'll tell ya," Maxi said cockily.

"Don't," Kilik half begged him.

"Do!" Talim argued.

"Oh! Sophitia!" Maxi sang in an overly high-pitched voice thought to be impossible to be produced by such a masculine person.

"Sophitia, huh? Is she your girlfriend or something?" Talim asked him as Kilik stood up.

"No," Kilik replied, his spirits darkening. "I don't wanna talk about it now..." he walked off, throwing Kali Yuga on the ground.

"Was it something I said?" Talim asked Maxi in a whisper.

"No, it's not you, Kilik just hasn't got over losing the love of his life yet," Maxi joked.

"What?"

"Well Sophitia was this Turkish warrior; she was pretty good too... I fought her once or twice... but anyway, she and Kilik had this "thing" and she left to go home and she got married I think... she broke Kilik's heart anyway, and he doesn't like talking about it."

"And you think that's funny?" Talim's brow furrowed in anger.

"Wuh?"

"That's not funny, Maxi! You're so mean! You know, you're not the nice guy I thought you were. Have you ever thought to talk to Kilik about it? Maybe help him out or something... You're supposed to be his friend!" Talim stormed off also, leaving Maxi alone in the dried out field.

Talim walked for a few minutes before she found Kilik, pensive, at the side of the nearby lake. "Kilik?" Talim said softly as she approached. Kilik sniffed as a response. He looked as if he'd been fighting back tears, but he still had the tell-tale blood shot eyes.

"Hey..." she said comfortingly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He didn't shake her off surprisingly, so she sat next to him and hugged him. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked, still in her soft tone.

Kilik sniffed once more. "I... I just... miss her you know," he said. "And I want to go to Turkey to see her because I can't stand it anymore. I can't stop thinking about her all day every day. I just want to be with her..."

"I know you do, Kilik. Back in my village, there was a boy called Tami who I was absolutely crazy about. I've known him all my life and... Well when I turned 14, I decided to tell him how I felt. He told me he'd always felt the same. I couldn't have been happier... But the next day he was gone. He'd been sent out in the middle of the night to fight a war that was going on in our country. He was a warrior you see, all the men in the village were. But I never saw him again. Somebody said he died... And I never got over it."

Then she let out a short, sad laugh. "When we were little, we found an injured bluebird in the woods by our village. And Tami told me he'd be a bluebird one day after his life as a human was over... I still look for a bluebird, hoping it'll be him, crazy huh?"

"No, it's... it's really sweet." Kilik said, smiling at her. "...It's hope, isn't it, hope that one day you'll be reunited with him... bluebird or not."

"That's true love for ya," Talim joked. Kilik went silent for a moment, making Talim fell like she'd said something wrong. "You wanna go back now, get something to eat?" She asked him, changing the subject. Kilik nodded in response and the two set off back to the Inn they were staying at.