(A/N: Welcome back folks to another exciting chapter of Tales of Bleach.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia
Ichigo's pov
I followed Lloyd to his house on the outskirts of Iselia. Upon exiting the village Ichigo met Noishe.
"Huh, and who's this," I asked looking at the large creature.
"Oh this is Noishe, he's my pet." Lloyd said.
"You're pet?" I had seen a lot of strange things in Soul Society, but Noishe seemed far too large to be deemed a pet.
"Yes, say hello Noishe," Lloyd encouraged the animal. I stuck out my hand as Noishe sniffed it and licked his fingers. "Huh that's odd," Lloyd said.
"What is?" I asked.
"How comfortable Noishe is with you. He generally isn't too fond of strangers." Lloyd explained.
"Well, he likes me for some reason," I said as I squatted and pet Noishe's neck fur. His tail began wagging furiously back and forth.
"We need to get going," Lloyd said, "you guys can play together after we get to my house."
"Yeah sure," I said standing up. The trio headed off into the forest. As they marched through it I happened to take notice of a large structure off to our left.
"Huh what's that place?" I asked.
"That's the Desian Human Ranch." Lloyd said.
"Desian Human Ranch?" I asked.
"I don't know the details basically it's a Desian stronghold. You could ask my dad he might know." Lloyd answered.
"What's a Desian?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked me
"It's exactly what it sounds like," I responded, damn I really should've done my research on this world.
"Well according to the professor the Desians are half-elves who of course have both human and elf. They have usurped the worlds Mana and taken many humans as slaves because they think they are superior to the human race."
"Are all half-elves like that?" I asked in wonder.
"Well not all half-elves are Desians, but I haven't met one so I can't say for certain," Lloyd shrugged.
"Well what if you met a half-elf that wasn't a Desian?" I asked him.
"Dunno, maybe he could be a nice guy but I would still be careful" Lloyd answered.
That seemed like a sound response, least the kid wasn't prejudice.
After a bit more of a walk he and I made it to his house. Noishe bounded towards his pen and Lloyd led me inside to his house.
"Dad I'm home!" he announced. A dwarf near what appeared to be a kindling furnace turned towards us.
"Lloyd, good to see ya mah boy," the Dwarf said, the man looked up at me, "Who's this then?"
"This is Ichigo I found him earlier passed out in front of the village and the professor helped him recover. He doesn't have a place to stay so I thought he could stay here." Lloyd answered.
"Good to see ya followin the teachings Lloyd," the Dwarf approached me, "I'm Dirk, nice ta meet ya."
"Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you to," I said shaking his hand.
"Well there's a guest bed upstairs in Lloyd's room you can stay there. This place may not be big, but it's a home nonetheless."
"It's fine," I said, "I've slept on the ground before so having a bed to sleep in no matter the size is a plus." I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Well it's still a couple hours before dinner, I'll let you know when it's on the table."
"Great come on Ichigo I'm sure Noishe is waiting," Lloyd said, knowing how eager I was to play with the animal. We went outside and played fetch with Noishe and had a grand old time. Noishe didn't even bother struggling when Lloyd and I had to give him a bath afterwards. It was a lot of fun, something I haven't been able to do in a long time, just kick back and relax. After dinner, before I went to bed I sat on the Terrace with my feet dangling over the side. Lloyd was already fast asleep, but I was thinking about how everyone else was doing.
"How's it going Ichigo?" Urahara's voice suddenly came in
"Good so far I guess,"
"Okay…you'll let me know if you run into someone right?" he asked.
"When I have a moment to spare." I told him.
"Fair enough. You should get some sleep."
"Yeah sure," I said and went inside and fell asleep
The next day Lloyd and I headed off to Iselia for school. Apparently Raine taught all the children in Iselia since she's a very intelligent woman. I was not prepared when I got to class to be met with a very familiar face.
"Ichii!" Someone suddenly pounced onto me and I recognized them immediately.
"Y-Yachriu?" I asked, startled. What the hell is she doing here, wait Kenpachi's not nearby is he?
"Oh. You know each other?" Colette asked.
"You could say that," I said with a slightly annoyed and worried look, because Kenpachi could be nearby, as I stood up. Yachiru stood next to me.
Genis walked over to us, "So how does a wandering swordsman like yourself have relations with an Iselia orphan?"
Orphan? So she's not with Kenpachi?
I was about to make up a story, but Yachiru blurted out "Cause Ichii's one of my best friends."
"Best friends? Then how come you two didn't arrive here together?" Lloyd asked.
"Uh, well you see…we got separated around the desert area, right Yachiru?" I asked pulling an apple gel and a few other treats I had on my person from my pocket.
"Right," she said smiling.
"Ichigo, Yachiru could you please stand aside?" Raine's voice came from behind me and I only just realized I was blocking the door. "And Ichigo could you please put that large cleaver blade of yours out in the hallway, it's not like anyone's going to steal it."
"Yeah sure," I sighed and leaned Zangetsu against the wall outside. I sat down in an open seat, which happened to be next to Yachiru and sat in and listened to Raine teach. I learned a lot about the natural order of this world, about Desians, about something called the Journey of Regeneration and even general geography of Sylvarant. Lloyd got punished in the middle of class for lack of focus and despite my previous presumption Yachiru was well behaved, save for the fact that she was doodling most of the time. After classes I figured I'd ask Raine more about how Yachiru got here in Iselia. I waited until most of the students had already left, I told Lloyd I'd meet him back at his house now that I knew the way. Yachiru, for some reason wasn't leaving, but since the situation involved her I guess it didn't matter that she wasn't leaving.
"You two are quite attached to one another." Raine said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I overheard part of the conversation as I walked into the building. Are you her legal guardian?" Raine asked.
I should probably mention Kenpachi, I thought but before I could Yachiru spoke out.
"Ichii's just a friend Kenny's in charge of me, but I haven't been able to find him since I arrived in the village." Yachiru answered.
"Yes, I know you've mentioned him several times Yachiru." Raine said as though treating her like a child.
"I do know who she's talking about," I answered, "She's looking for a man by the name of Kenpachi Zaraki. He's sort of like a father figure to her. He was part of our travel group."
"What happened to him?" Raine asked.
"Nothing, it's just that," This of something damn it.
"We're a really large group and Kenny didn't want to head in the same direction Ichii and I were going." Yachiru said.
Good she's in on the fact that we have to lie.
Raine seemed suspicious of the clarity of our story, but didn't say anything nonetheless. What she did say was, "I asked the carpenters of the village to get you your own place to say, since you and Yachiru seem to know each other I'm sure there won't be an issue with you two staying together." Raine said.
"Not at all," I said. Great, now I gotta put up with her, just my luck.
"Yachiru why don't you run along? I believe Ichigo wishes to discuss something with me in private." Raine said suddenly.
"Sure thing Rai-Rai," Yachiru ran off with her usual playful giggle.
"How did you know that…?" I asked.
"As her friend I figured you want to know the specifics surrounding our finding of Yachiru." Raine said.
"Yes, I'd like to know that," I said, concerned for Yachiru.
"It was a few days ago, during a field trip. We were with the town watch to go outside the village a far distance and collect flowers and herbs and study them and Collette happened to find her curled up in a ball, sucking her thumb, and sleeping in a bush. She wasn't ailing like you were, just tired. Phaidra and Frank have been taking care of her along with Colette."
"Are Phaidra and Frank…"
"Phaidra's Colette's grandmother, Frank is her father." Raine answered.
"I see."
"Do you plan on staying long here in Iselia?" Raine asked.
"Not really I have places I need to go," I said.
"Like where, and do you plan on taking Yachiru with you?" Raine asked me.
"If she wants to come with me sure," I answered.
"So you would leave behind a small child your "friend" here by herself?" Raine seemed displeased with my choice of dialogue.
"She's more capable than you give her credit for," I told Raine.
"I'm not talking about her physical stamina and strength I'm referring to a psychological aspect the fact that she would be a lonely 8 year old girl without anyone to be here."
"What about Colette?" I asked.
"When the journey of regeneration starts Colette will head on out as the Chosen of Regeneration. I as her teacher will be going with her, she and Genis don't get along much and I don't think Dirk could keep up with her energy in his house."
Man that really doesn't leave me any choice does it, "Then I'll take her with me whether she wants to come along or not. She probably wants to be with Kenpachi anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if she's only not leaving the village because she's behaving like he would want her too."
"You seem to know a great deal about her," Raine said.
"Like I said, we're friends," I told her.
"I see, well then, I'll see you tomorrow for class Ichigo." She gathered her belongings and left. I waited until I heard the door close before I contacted Urahara.
"Hey Hat and Cloggs!"
"Yes Ichigo?"
"I found Yachiru, she's in Iselia." I explained to him everything that had happened up to this point.
"Yachiru-chan eh? Well you're probably going to have to keep an eye on her until you find Zaraki-taicho."
"I was planning on doing so, after what Raine said about her being in the village."
"Very well then, bye," and just like that he left me alone again.
A few more days went by. Yachiru seemed pretty content of it just being the two of us. I figured she and I could head out together when the Journey of Regeneration started.
Currently I was in class. Raine was discussing the journey itself when all of a sudden there was this bright light. Everyone was amazed at what it was, especially Yachiru.
"Settle down everyone," Raine was saying, "It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?" Everyone seemed to nod their heads but Colette opted to go with Raine, "No Colette, If it is the oracle, the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else. Ichigo I want you to stay with Colette as a safety measure."
"Yes ma'am," I responded and she took off. I watched as Lloyd attempted to sneak out of class, but Genis stopped him. The two of them had a small discussion with each other and then, somehow, Colette got involved and all of a sudden they started walking out of the room. "Where do you three think you're going?" I asked.
"Uh…" was my response from all three.
"If you're planning on heading to the Chapel and Colette's going then I have to go to, Raine-sensei's orders."
"Great, glad to have you along Ichigo," Lloyd said.
"I'm not coming by myself," I turned towards Yachiru, "Yachiru!" she turned her head, "Let's go we're going on an adventure."
"Yay!" she cheered and scampered onto my shoulder.
"Wait, your letting a child smaller then Genis tag along with something as dangerous as this?" Lloyd asked in concern
"Don't you think that's a bit reckless?" Genis added.
"I have to keep an eye on her, plus she's got a few tricks of her own, she'll be fine."
"If you say so," Lloyd said. We stopped by the small house that Yachiru and I were staying in and she picked up her Zanpakuto and we headed on out to the Chapel together.
(Yachiru has joined the party. Yachiru's artes/techs are: Surge of Power (like Ichigo), Havoc Strike, Guardian, Sonic Strike (Like Sonic Thrust, but without a sword), and Beast.)
Yachiru clung to my shoulder, Lloyd was in front and Genis and Colette were on either side of me. When we made it to the chapel we could hear fighting up ahead. In fact a priest even came down completely desecrated by the Desians.
Desians eh, I thought to myself, Wait Raine's headed this way and we didn't pass her! "Raine!" I shouted.
"Ichigo there are Desians up there," Genis warned.
"What's your point? I'll kick their asses down!" I shouted, "If you guys don't want to join me that's fine, come on Yachiru."
"I'll go with you," Lloyd said, "Dwarven Vow #1: Let's all work together for a peaceful world"
"And Dwarven Vow #2: Never abandon someone in need right?" I looked at him. He nodded.
"I'm going to. I have to as the Chosen of Regeneration." Colette stepped forward.
"You can wait here if you want Genis." I said.
"Oh no way, I'm not letting a couple of hot heads like you and Lloyd go off on your own I'm going too," Genis said.
"Who are you calling a hot head?" I griped at him.
"This is no time to be arguing you guys we need to see what's going on at the top of the temple," Lloyd interjected. I agreed he was right.
When we reached the top of the hill there was an old woman there and a man with a V-shaped haircut with pointed ears.
"Where is the Chosen?" he asked.
"Run Colette," the old woman called out.
"Lord Botta there she is," one of the soldiers next to the man said.
So these are Desians, I said to myself.
Lloyd drew out his swords, "I won't let you Desians get away with anything!" One of the soldiers laughed.
"What's so funny?" Genis asked.
"Well then, die at the hands of the Desians you hate so much." They came charging. I was about to react, but Yachiru leapt off my shoulder and kicked one of the Desians in the face knocking him a good distance away.
"I won't let you losers hurt Collie." She said and turned towards the other soldier, "Beast!"
Lloyd and Genis were amazed by Yachiru's strength. Suddenly a big Desian stumbled forward and made to attack Yachiru. I quickly unsheathed Zangetsu and blocked his incoming attack.
"You bastard, what kind of monster attacks a defenseless little girl?" I asked as I pushed him away.
"Um I don't think Yachiru qualifies as defenseless," Genis commented.
"Genis this is not the time," Lloyd said and the five of us engaged this big guy in battle. I used Giant Demon Fang, Lloyd used Demon Fang, Yachiru used Havoc Strike and Genis used Fire ball, but even after taking all that the guy still stood standing.
"Well then let's see you survive this," I prepared to launch a Getsuga but someone stopped me. He was wearing a lot of purple, he was carrying a sword and a shield and had auburn hair.
"Get out of the way," He said, and attacked the large soldier with speed and strength the likes of which I had never seen before.
"I never thought you'd show up," Botta stared at the newcomer, "Damn, retreat for now."
"Hey get back here!" I shouted, but Yachiru grabbed my hakama.
"But Ichii if you kill them now you can't fight them later."
While I don't agree with her choice of words she's right, right now the important thing is making sure Raine's alright. I told myself.
"Is everyone alright? Hmm, no one seems to be hurt," The man who took down the Desian said.
"Hey is that an exsphere?" Lloyd asked taking notice of the gem on the man's left hand. He didn't answer Lloyd.
"How can I ever thank you for saving the chosen?" the old woman asked the guy.
Hey, c'mon don't Yachiru and I get a little praise?
The man looked at Colette, "I see, so this girl is the next chosen," The man said.
"That's right I have to go accept the oracle. Grandmother I'm going to accept the trial now." She turned towards the old woman.
I see, so this is Phaidra then, so then who's this guy? I looked at the man.
"What trial?" Lloyd asked.
"The monsters I assume," the man said, "And evil presence radiates from inside the chapel."
"Yes that is correct," Phaidra said, "The Chosen is to receive judgment from heaven, but the priests who were to accompany her, fell at the hands of the Desians."
"Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette," Lloyd said abruptly.
"Lloyd, I would be uneasy with just the two of you." Phaidra said turning towards him.
The man in front of us looked at Lloyd suspiciously, "Your name is Lloyd?" he asked.
"Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?" he asked the guy.
Hey show some respect to the guy who saved your ass, I thought to myself.
However, the guy answered with, "I am Kratos, a mercenary. As long as you can pay me I'll accept the job of guarding the chosen."
"Under the circumstances I would appreciate it, please be of service."
"It's a deal then," Kratos said.
"Hold up, I'm going too," I said, "Raine asked me to look after Colette," I said.
"I see, well if she trusts you to protect her I'll take you along as well," Kratos said to me.
"And if Ichii's going, I'm going," Yachriu said.
"Yachiru maybe you should sit this one out," I told her, "You can wait out here with Lloyd and Genis."
"No way I'm going to!" Lloyd protested.
"Lloyd you'll only get in the way, be a good boy and wait here." Kratos said. There was something about the way he said that, that seemed off, but I couldn't place my finger on what.
"Gotcha, then I'll just follow you on my own," Lloyd said.
"You're a stubborn kid, fine do as you wish." Kratos said.
"I'll do just that," Lloyd said.
"Yay, I'm going to go to then." Yachiru climbed back onto my shoulder.
"Why in the world are you going to bring a child to a dangerous place like this?" Kratos turned towards me uneasy about letting her come along.
"Trust me on this," I said and pointed to the unconscious, comatose Desian on the ground, "She's the one who did that."
"I see, very well then," Kratos cleared his throat, "Let's get moving."
We all headed into the temple and made our way to the altar, battle after battle.
Once at the altar an angel descended from heaven who said that he was Colette's real father he then told Colette to head to the Seal of Fire. After which Kratos and Colette headed out to Colette's house. Yachiru jumped off my shoulder.
"See you later Ichii, I'm going to go back to Collie's house with her and Kratokun," she scampered off.
"Man she moves quickly for her age," Lloyd commented.
"Whatever, let's head back to the village, with any luck Raine's already back there," I said.
"Yeah, come on," Genis agreed.
We all made to exit the temple when we ran into the exact person we had been looking for, "Raine." We seemed to have startled her.
"Ichigo, Lloyd, Genis what are you doing her? You're supposed to be in class!"
"Sorry, Lloyd, Genis and Colette were trying to sneak out and since you said I had to keep an eye on Colette I followed them and had Yachiru tag along. When we got here there were Desians attacking the temple. I was worried about you Raine."
"Yes well as you can see I'm perfectly fine Ichigo, but thank you for worrying about my well being," Raine said and then looked around before saying, "You said Yachiru was with you though, where is she?"
"Huh, oh she went back to the village with Colette and this guy Kratos who showed up at the temple earlier they were all going to Colette's house."
"I see, very well then. The three of you should head on back to the village. I'm staying here for a little while longer to examine the temple."
"Will you be alright by yourself?" I asked her, still concerned about her safety.
"I'll be perfectly fine you three head on back to Iselia," she said.
"Alright if you say so, let's go guys," I said to Lloyd and Genis and we exited the temple. On our way back Genis spoke out.
"So Ichigo do you have it for my sister or something?" Genis asked.
Without word or warning I took Zangetsu in its cloth wrappings and promptly whacked Genis over the head with it. He moaned in his pain, "Next time you say something like that I'll remove the handicap."
"Hey don't dice Genis to bits. Who else am I supposed to copy my homework off of?" Lloyd asked.
"I don't know I think that whack may have killed some brain cells Lloyd, maybe I won't be able to do the answers right tonight?" Genis teased. It went on like this for a while until we got back to Iselia. The first place we went was Colette's house.
"Then we shall entrust the protection of the chosen to Kratos and Raine," The three of us heard the mayor say as we entered the house.
"I have no objections," Kratos answered.
"Thank you for your help earlier," Colette said to Kratos.
"Yeah Kratokun is the best," Yachiru shouted from across the room stuffing her face.
"Hey are you guys talking about the Journey of Regeneration?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes," Phaidra responded.
"Wow! I want to go too! I want to see Colette regenerate the world!" Lloyd said, excited.
"If Raine is going then I'm going to!" Genis declared.
"Do you realize what you'd be getting yourselves into? The battles back at the temple are probably nothing compared to the real journey."
"It's as he says," Kratos backed me up, "You two will only make the journey more difficult."
You didn't have to put it that strongly, I thought to myself.
Growling Lloyd exited the house with Genis and me following him. Colette came out as well and over-apologized for what happened inside and then I learned that not only was Colette leaving tomorrow, but today was her 16th Birthday.
"Oh and Yachiru is staying here tonight Ichigo so just so you don't have to worry about her."
"That's fine thanks for letting me know," I said. Colette went back inside. I turned towards Lloyd, "Is it okay if I crash at your place again for the evening?"
"Yeah sure, not a problem," Lloyd affirmed.
"So if you guys are headed out to Lloyd's place, can I go part of the way with you?" he asked.
"Sure but where are you going?" Lloyd wanted to know.
"I'm going to see a friend."
"I didn't know you had friends outside the village besides Ichigo and me," Lloyd responded.
"Does that matter?" Genis asked, avoiding the subject, "Can we stop by my house so I can pick up some stuff?" Genis asked.
"Sure," Lloyd answered.
After we exited the village, and Noishe and Lloyd reunited again we headed off into the forest. We were getting pretty close to Lloyd's house when all of a sudden Genis stopped in front of the Desian ranch.
"Here's my stop."
"At the Desian Human ranch?" Lloyd questioned, "Doesn't that go against the non-agression treaty?"
"The Desians already attacked the temple!" Genis declared. Lloyd looked to me for support.
"I don't think it's a good idea to go looking for trouble."
"Well I'm going and if something happens to me I'll tell Raine it was your fault," Genis taunted.
"You little snot nosed punk that's blackmail," I growled.
"So are you coming or not?" Genis asked again, this time more sincerly.
"Yeah, yeah sure." I said, Lloyd followed.
We met this woman Marble and I learned something interesting about these things called Exspheres. Lloyd even promised he'd ask Dirk if he could form a Key Crest for Marble. I guess he does know some things considering his grades are worse than Keigo's. Before the conversation could go any farther the Desians called out to Marble and took her to the back. Lloyd and Genis went to get on higher ground for a better look. Since I didn't want anything to happen to them I went with them.
We were watching as Marble was getting whipped by the Desians. Lloyd then declared that Genis should save Marble by attacking the Desians from where we were with magic and Lloyd would act as the decoy. I grabbed their heads with my hands.
"Hold up, there's no way in hell I'm letting you two do that. Genis you run for it, Lloyd act as the decoy. I'll take care of the Desians."
"What are you planning on doing?" Genis asked.
"Yeah Giant Demon Fang won't reach them from here." Lloyd said.
"You leave that to me," I smirked, "both of you back away." I watched as they backed away a few feet, "There's fine," I charged my spiritual pressure, and raised my sword high above my head, "Getsuga Tensho!" I didn't aim for any of the captives for fear of hurting them, I targeted a building in the ranch where several Desians were standing around talking. The Desians attacking Marble after noticing the explosion left her alone and went to see what the hell was going on, seeing that the building I targeted now had a nice big gash in the structure and the Desians I hit went flying a up a good few decameters.
"Wh-what the hell was that?" Lloyd asked startled.
"Just shut up and run!" I exclaimed. We ran away from the area. Genis headed towards the village Lloyd headed back the way we came in and I used Shunpo to reach Lloyd's location.
"What the hell was that?" Lloyd asked when he Genis and I met up.
"My greatest technique: Getsuga Tensho."
"WE'RE GONNA GET IN TROUBLE FOR SURE!" Genis freaked, "LLOYD'S PLAN WAS SUBTLE YOU JUST DESTROYED A CHUNK OF THE RANCH!"
"Hey you're the ones who wanted to save Marble, besides if we had followed Lloyd's plan something may have gone wrong."
"Ichigo has a good point," Lloyd stated.
"Lloyd," Genis whined.
Lloyd continued his explanation, "I'm serious Genis, that Getsuga whatever it was,"
"Getsuga Tensho."
"Yeah that," Lloyd nodded, "The attack was so powerful I don't think the Desians even knew we were there," Lloyd stated, "They were too busy checking the damage to the ranch."
"And the best part is that I managed to hit some explosives so it almost may seem as if something went wrong with their systems."
"O-o-okay," Genis seemed to calm down.
"Anyway we should head back your house Lloyd. That attack took a lot out of me."
"Yeah sure, let's go. See you tomorrow Genis," Lloyd said. Genis waved and left.
Lloyd and I went to his house and on the way Lloyd decided to talk to me about what happened in more detail. "How did you do that anyway? That was one seriously powerful attack. Do you have an Exsphere? Could you teach me to do that?" Lloyd was throwing out so many questions I had to stop his barrage.
"Whoa okay, one at a time. First Getsuga Tensho is my most powerful technique it gathers all my Mana together and releases it in a high frequency density beam." I said Mana to avoid continuum errors since I figured the laws of Mana here were like the laws of Spirit Energy in my world. "As for your 2nd question I didn't even know what Exspheres were until I came to Iselia. And for your 3rd question no because my sword is the only one that can use Getsuga Tensho."
"What do you mean?" Lloyd was confused, "You mean that the power is in that sword? How do you lift that thing anyway without an Exsphere."
"I'm just in better shape than you I guess," I said, "And let me put it this way my sword is a legendary sword known as Zangetsu and only I can wield it."
"What do you mean only you can wield it?"
"You ever heard things about how the sword chooses its wielder stuff, it's kind of like that."
"I getcha," Lloyd smiled, "You're a pretty cool guy Ichigo. I hope I can be like you someday."
"What the heck are you talkin about?" I asked, "I'm younger than you are."
"Say what, you look and act a few years older than me." Lloyd freaked.
"That's just because I'm taller than you and I know how to be mature." I teased him. "Anyway let's head off to your house."
"Yeah," he agreed.
When we finally got to Lloyd's house it was getting close to sundown. "Hey dad, I'm home," Lloyd announced as we walked in the door, "Oh and Ichigo's staying over again."
"That's fine Lloyd, how are you and Ichigo today?"
"I'm fine," Lloyd said as I put Zangetsu in the corner of the room, "Say dad is there any chance you could make a key crest?"
"Why do you need a key crest all of a sudden?" Dirk asked him. As I sat down at the table and waited for dinner to be served. I didn't pay much attention to Lloyd and his dad talking I was thinking about if I did the right thing today by attacking like that. I know I saved Marble, but I just had a strange ominous feeling that somehow the Desians would figure out what happened.
"WE'RE GONNA GET IN TROUBLE FOR SURE! LLOYD'S PLAN WAS SUBTLE YOU JUST DESTROYED A CHUNK OF THE RANCH!"
I was pulled out of my train of thought when Dirk shouted, "You went to the ranch!"
"I-I'm sorry Lloyd apologized a bunch of stuff happened today and…"
"You didn't let the Desians see your special Exsphere didja?" Dirk asked. Feeling as though dinner wouldn't get started anytime soon I went to grab some stuff from the fridge.
"They didn't even see us." Lloyd said
"What do you mean?" Dirk asked.
"That would be my doing." I said walking back to the table with a plate full of food.
"Oh yeah you should've seen Ichigo he created this big huge gash in the side of the ranch from a distance with this real cool move and…"
Dirk aprubtly shouted, "ICHIGO ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? YOU ATTACKED THE RANCH. FOR MARTEL'S SAKE BOY!"
"Dad he did it to save someone, and the Desians never saw us because of the force of the attack, but why is it so important I hide this thing? The mercenary Ichigo and I met wore his right out in the open." Lloyd said.
"Your Exsphere is special." Dirk said, "Ichigo you might want to hear this to." He said, "Especially since you're sort of involved in this now."
I got up and walked over to Dirk and Lloyd. The dwarf then explained the truth to us about what happened to Lloyd's mom.
"It's just like with me," I said aloud.
"What do you mean?" Dirk asked.
Crap, I can't say a hollow did it, they don't know what a hollow is…I guess I could blame it on the Desians, they are the bad guys I'm assuming, "My mom was also murdered by Desians, she died protecting me from them."
"She did?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah and I'll never forgive the Desian who killed her either," I said Desian, but I meant hollow. I would never forgive Grand Fisher for what he did to her.
"See, Ichigo understands my position." Lloyd told Dirk. "Now I understand why you attacked the Ranch so violently." he told me.
"It doesn't mean it was a good idea," Dirk said.
"Dirk's right, we can't take revenge for its own sake Lloyd, but I think that I'll go on the journey of regeneration. If completing the journey means stopping more victims like your Mom and my Mom then I'll gladly join it."
"What are you going to do about Yachiru?" Lloyd asked.
"I'll take her with me," I said, "And with any luck I'll convince Kratos and Raine to let you tag along," I glanced towards Dirk, "I'll protect him, count on it." I walked outside. Everyone was already there. "Lemme guess you all heard that just now?" I asked.
"Ichigo honestly from what Genis told me you gave the Desians a clear reason to attack Iselia."
"But the Desians never knew we were there," Lloyd said.
"It doesn't mean they won't retaliate. Even the best laid plans have their flaws," Kratos said.
"Lloyd can we go up to the Terrace and talk?" Colette asked.
"Sure," Lloyd responded. While he and Colette talked I decided that I'd talk to everyone else. I opted to talk to Genis first.
"You little tattle tale," I said to him.
"Raine was asking why I was out of breath and so I had to tell her the truth, she can always tell when I lie," Genis said, "But I'm not mad at you."
"Huh?"
"I know I freaked out earlier, but I think you did enough damage to the ranch for all three of us."
"I guess so," I said. After I finished talking to Genis I noticed Kratos over by Anna's gravestone. "What are you doing over here?" I asked him, "More importantly, where's Yachiru?"
"Still at Frank and Phaidra's, she's asleep," Kratos answered, "You seem quite concerned for her."
"Yeah well she's a friend is all, plus Kenpachi would kill me if anything happened to her." I rubbed the back of my neck thinking about the pain I would be in if something did happen and he found out.
"Is that her father?"
"In a sense, though they're as close to father and daughter as Dirk and Lloyd are father and son."
"I see. As for what I'm doing over here I was wondering about the gravesite."
"Oh yeah, it's Lloyd's Mom."
"Anna, hmm," Kratos thought for a bit, "Has Lloyd mentioned his father at all?"
"Well Dirk's like a father to him, but as for his real dad, I don't know anything."
"I see, that would make sense."
"By the way, I was wondering if I could possibly join up with you and Raine on the journey of regeneration."
"That you'll have to take up with Raine."
On that note I went over to talk to Raine only to get slapped across the face, "Ichigo what were you thinking?" she scolded, I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me, "I'll answer for you, you weren't thinking."
"But you know that they never saw us."
"It doesn't matter," Raine said, "Damage of that magnitude on the ranch could have serious repercussions."
"Look my attack hit some explosives demolishing all traces of a blade like gash, not to mention I took out several Desians who were just loitering about." I told her.
"Well, what's past is past, but next time think a little before you act."
"By the way, I was wondering if I could possibly join the journey of regeneration with you guys."
"As much as I believe that you'd be well versed in assisting with the journey, I can't have you expose Yachiru to that kind of danger."
"She'll be fine," I said, "Besides Kenpachi has to be somewhere in Sylvarant right? Once we find him then he can watch after her and she won't be my burden anymore, even though she is pretty capable on her own."
"Yes Genis told me what she did to those Desians," Raine said, "It's like you said before she's capable."
"Well I guess I can come by the village tomorrow and see you guys off at least, I plan on leaving tomorrow afternoon with her to go in search of my friends anyway."
"Well that's entirely your decision, I'm sure Lloyd and Genis will miss you. Lloyd seems to look up to you."
"And yet I'm younger than he is."
Raine chuckled, "You certainly don't act like it."
"Anyway good luck on the journey," I told her.
"Thank you Ichigo, I'm sure it will be a success." By the time we were done talking Colette had come down from the terrace. I went inside to talk to Lloyd.
"Hey," I told him as I got into my bed that I stayed in when I stayed over here, "Listen, tomorrow afternoon Yachiru and I are leaving Iselia."
"Huh, how come?" Lloyd asked.
"I need to find my friends," I said, "We got separated from our large group to take our own roads and paths and so I want to be able to find them and group us back together."
"Will you come back to Iselia?" Lloyd asked.
"If the opportunity presents itself," I said.
"Ok then," Lloyd stared out the window, "I hope you find your friends Ichigo."
"Yeah me too," I said and then, slowly but surely, fell asleep.
(A/N: Finally a decent stopping point. This is by far the longest chapter I have ever written for anything and I think that this series will or may continue to have chapters of this length. Tales of Symphonia is so fast paced that it's hard to find a decent stopping point in the storyline. Questions Comments, feel free to tell me what you think. Review Subscribe and Fave if you like this. Also for those of you wondering about Yachiru's nicknames: Collie = Colette, Rai-Rai = Raine, Kratokun = Kratos, Shorty = Genis and Red Shirt = Lloyd)