Welcome back to Chained Souls. Well, enjoy the third chapter.

Chapter 3

Day 7

Bonds of Love

Snow's POV

It was just around sunset that day. Serah had said she wanted to tell me something, so I waited for her at the courtyard near the beach. The last four days had been rather calm… well, except for that incident at Euride Gorge the other day, and that one time yesterday when Soul got a small paper cut on his finger and I noticed that bits and pieces of his blood were black, but at the time, I just wrote it of as a trick of the light.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I noticed Serah approaching my location. I noticed that she was still wearing that white cloth on her upper left arm. She had been wearing that cloth for the last four days, but I didn't really see anything wrong. In my mind, Serah was just making a fashion statement.

She had her eyes downcast as she made it over to me. I could tell something was bothering her.

"Hey, Serah… Is something wrong?" I asked her. She didn't answer right away, likely contemplating what she should say.

"Look… Snow… it's over between us."

I just stared at her, wondering if I heard right.

"Hey, wait. You can't just drop the breakup bomb like that. We've gone too far to stop now."

"Just… Just stay away from me!"

I could tell from that statement that she was serious about this, but the tears in her eyes told me that she wasn't happy about this decision. She tried to run off at this point, but I called over to her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Serah… Before we met, I was perfectly fine with being alone. But then we did. Now…I can't imagine anything else. We've gone too far to stop now, and now you want to break up?"

"I don't want to… I have to."

"Look, if it's something I did, just tell me. At least do that much for me."

She remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about what I said. Soon, she sighed dejectedly.

"Alright." She then took off the white cloth on her arm and turned so that I had a clear view of her left arm. "Look."

I did, but I just couldn't believe what I saw. My breath became shallow and uneven as I looked at the mark on Serah's arm: a series of overlapping vertical lines, the center line of which featured arrows pointing up and down, and a line of hollow squares in the center, like an eye beginning to open. She was…

"Branded by Pulse." She gave voice to the idea. "I'm a l'Cie. Do you get it now?" She turned away from me as I just collapsed to my knees in sheer disbelieve. "I'm your enemy. An enemy of Cocoon. Snow… good-bye." At that, she ran off, and all I could do was watch her leave, tears falling in her wake.

How could I have let this happen to her? Why didn't she tell me sooner? I banged my fist on the ground in hopelessness. I just can't believe I let this happen. I was sitting there for at least half an hour, berating myself for letting Serah run off like that.

"No…" I had to make things right. "Serah!" I almost instantly got back up to my feet and ran after Serah.

Soul's POV

I sighed heavily. A whole week in this place, and still no sign of Maka. I started to lose hope at this time. Maybe she WAS left behind. Maybe I'm alone here, with only Snow and his NORA buddies to provide the illusion of company.

What's more, the city was holding some fireworks festival in four days, and there's this urban legend saying that those fireworks can grant peoples' wishes. Absolute baloney. If that thing was true…I'd wish Maka was here with me…

I was rudely forced out of my thoughts when this eighteen-year-old girl with pink hair tied into a side ponytail ran past me towards the docks, stepping on my foot in the process. She was in such a hurry that she didn't bother to apologize to me. Hissing with the pain, I sat down on a nearby bench, and started massaging my throbbing foot. Snow came running by a few minutes later, and upon noticing me on the bench, he came over to me.

"Hey, Soul, have you seen a girl run by here?"

"Over on the docks," I gave him the short version, deciding that telling him about my foot was not a good idea. That girl must have been this Serah person the NORA people kept talking about: Snow's girlfriend. I watched Snow run over to the docks in a rush.

Did they have a fight or something?

"I wonder if there's anyone else here who knows what it's like to not know where a friend is…someone they care about more than anything…" I wondered aloud.

Unknown POV

I sneezed rather violently all of a sudden. Hope that was Vanille talking about me…

Serah's POV

I don't know how long I just stood there, crying on the docks. It was all I could do to express my immeasurable despair.

My life was over. There's no future for Pulse l'Cie. I may as well just die now and get it over with.

I heard footsteps behind me. It was obvious from the loud noise that it was Snow. I kept my back to him as he ran up to me.

"What was your Focus?" He asked me. I still didn't turn towards him. "When l'Cie are branded, they are given a Focus: a task to complete. What did the fal'Cie tell you to do?"

What did it matter what my Focus is? I have no idea anyway.

"I… I don't know," Was all I could choke out. That was the worst part of it. "I'm… I'm going to be a Cie'th…"

Snow finally turned me towards him. "Serah… I won't let that happen." I could only stare at him in surprise. Is he serious? "We'll figure this out, I promise."

"But… if the Sanctum finds out…"

"Let them try. They'll have to get through me first."

I felt the tears returning to my eyes… but they weren't tears of despair. Snow… You'd really risk your life… for me?

"Hey, Snow? If the legends are true… l'Cie who complete their focus turn to crystal and receive the gift of eternity… If I…"

"Hey, they wouldn't call it 'eternity' if you died."

I can't believe that I was so stupid. I should have known that Snow… I can't believe I thought he would abandon me if he found out. Pushing others away just to protect them…

That isn't love.

There we go. Please review.