(A/N: Valentine's day is almost here and what better way to celebrate the approaching holiday than with a new chapter of ToB: RotS. Enjoy folks.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

Ichigo's pov

We all walked together with Rukia holding her little pet in her arms while telling it how cute it was and stroke its fur and ears. I swear I don't think she'll ever let go of it except for battle. There were a bunch of monsters around, but not a lot of them were hostile enough to attack us.

"There sure are a lot of monsters around," Emil said.

"You think this is all because of Ventus' Core?" Marta questioned.

"Most likely," Tenebrae stated, "I suspect that the Garuda we encountered here earlier was also drawn by Ventus' powers."

"But once Marta hatches the core, Ventus would wake up and all of that would stop, right?" Colette asked.

"That's right," Tenebrae said.

"Well let's do our best to get it then," Emil said, "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality."

"What's that?" Colette asked him, "Some form of Centurion oath?"

"N-no," Emil responded, "It's just a mantra of mine."

"It has a nice ring to it," Marta giggled.

Emil looked over to her, "Oh, so should I add 'Come on, you're a man! Speak up!' to the list as well?"

Marta blushed and put her hands by her mouth, "Hey, don't be a jerk."

"Ah! Cotton come back here!" I looked over to Rukia to see that her pet had wrenched free from her grasp and was bounding forward on its own. "We need to chase after Cotton everyone!" she declared.

"Go by yourself," I told her, "We're here for Ventus."

"Actually it seems the little fellow has run off in the direction of the core. Going after him would not be detrimental to the task at hand," Tenebrae stated.

"Yeah so come on," Rukia ran after her pet.

"Damn it," I growled. We all tried to keep up at Rukia's pace until we reached what I could only guess was Ventus' altar. Rukia found her pet just sitting in the middle of the room staring at this glowing, green, seed shaped object.

Rukia got right behind her pet and scooped it up in her arms. "Gotcha!" she cried, "Don't run away from me like that."

"So is that green thing Ventus' Core?" I asked Tenebrae.

"Indeed."

Suddenly Colette cried out, "Rukia look out!" Colette ran over to Rukia and tripped. A blast of wind sailed over both of their heads and blasted down a nearby wall. A large blue demonic-looking creature suddenly materialized in front of the altar. It looked like a large blue Djinn, with an axe blade for a tail and wings made out of condensed wind.

"Wh-what is that?" I questioned.

"I-I dunno," Colette looked up, "but it looks awfully similar to that monster that Uryu destroyed."

"But that's impossible, we both saw Uryu turn that thing into dust," I cried out.

"That is not a monster, that is Ventus," Tenebrae stated.

"That's Ventus!" I cried out.

"But how can that be? Ventus' core is on the altar," Rukia stated.

"I don't know, but that creature's aura most certainly belongs to Ventus," Tenebrae stated.

But if that's Ventus…

Flashback

"I have come for the girl!"

End Flashback

Flashback

"I agree it seems like quite a foolish name, but 'demon lord' is the most appropriate term to describe what he is. If Ratatosk awakens, the world will be destroyed."

End Flashback

Does that mean that what Richter says is true? Are we on a quest to lead the world to destruction? I looked at Emil. And if so, what does that mean for Emil? He made a pact with Ratatosk. Damn it! Why do things have to be so complicated?

"Hey! Quit spacing out!" I heard Emil impersonating my voice and realized that I had a wind blast sailing in my direction. I blocked with my sword.

"What do we do?" I questioned.

"We have to defeat it. What else?" Marta asked rhetorically, preparing her spinner.

Damn it. I ran forward and made to attack Ventus and dodged an incoming wind blast.

"Hado 33 Sokatsui!" Rukia fired a kido blast at it, but it blocked with its wing. I leapt up in the air and made to come down from above, but Ventus swung at me and hit me with a wind blast at point blank. I was flung onto my ass and got up.

"First Aid!" It seemed Marta knew healing artes.

"Grand Chariot!" Colette tossed her chakrams in a cross formation and they zig-zagged towards Ventus creating lightning in their wake. But he brushed off Colette's attack like it was nothing and then attacked Colette with a lightning blast of his own.

"Colette!" I shouted and ran to shield her, but I didn't make it in time. Instead the wild rabbit took the hit for Colette.

"Cotton!" Rukia ran towards her pet in anguish. She cradled it in her arms. "No," Rukia cradled her rabbit in her arms. "Live! Cotton! Please…please!" A tear splashed from Rukia's face onto the rabbit and a white glow gave off from it, enveloping it. "H-huh?"

"This sensation, the wild rabbit is evolving," Tenebrae stated.

"Evolving?" I questioned.

"Monsters change form as they grow and develop, by absorbing mana but it's too soon for this monster unless it's been feeding off of Rukia's mana the entire time she was holding it," Tenebrae stated, "Most monsters gain experience and become stronger as they battle, but it seems this monster has been so attached to Rukia in the time she had it that her will for it to live has sparked this transformation."

"Cotton?" Rukia gasped and set the glowing rabbit down on the ground. The cunicular creature morphed and grew about two feet taller, now standing about half of Rukia's height. Its fur was now white and it had patches of cornflower colored fur in certain places.

"Congratulations," Tenebrae exclaimed, "It appears Cotton is living up to her name as a Cotton Tail species of rabbit monster."

"So now what?" I asked turning back to Ventus whom Emil was currently engaging in battle alongside Marta. "That thing," I indicated the monster we were fighting, "Is still twice just Rukia's size. We're still outclassed."

"Not necessarily," Tenebrae stated and looked at Cotton, "Please assist Lord Emil."

Cotton nodded and bounded forward a bit. "Tenebrae what are you up to?" I asked.

"Watch," he stated.

I observed as some form of multi-colored energy flowed from Cotton to Emil. Upon the moment of contact Emil's next swing was so much more powerful that when it connected with Ventus' tail, actually pierced right through the Centurion's tough skin. "Wh-what is that?"

"It's called unification," Tenebrae stated, "As a Knight of Ratatosk if Emil is given Mana willingly by four monsters and one humanoid ally he can utilize what is known as a unison attack."

"Then call out the other monsters," Rukia said taking a stance, "I'll offer Emil the support he needs."

"Very good then," Tenebrae said and summoned the imp, wolf and serpent. Each one gave Emil a fragment of their mana followed by Rukia. I saw the incredible effects of the results when Emil was able to dispel one of Ventus' wind blasts with a wave of his hand.

"Is that the best you can do?" he mocked Ventus with a fierce gaze. The giant djinn backed up.

"Phoenix Rush!" Emil swung down, front flipped adding an additional swing and then backflipped letting off a shockwave from the backing thrust. Pure mana began to poor from Ventus' body where Emil had created lacerations, "All right Ventus," Emil said and held his sword above his head with both his hands. There was a flash of energy and a circle of orange energy appeared underneath Emil, the power of which seemed to be flowing into his sword, which began sparking with energy that was mixed with various dark colors. The same energy had Ventus frozen in place. "It's over! Devil's Maw!" Emil leapt high into the air and came slamming down onto the ground erupting a pillar of negative energy in his wave, which tore Ventus in half and all of his energy went into the seed sitting on the altar. Emil returned to his normal self.

Marta ran up and threw her arms around him, "You did it Emil! You're so awesome!" she cried out with glee. Emil laughed nervously.

"There's one thing I still don't get," I said. "We defeated that creature a long time ago when Uryu shot it down. How did it come back to life?"

Tenebrae was quick to explain, "Most likely due to the dormant state of Ventus' core."

Rukia seemed to understand what I was getting at, "No, wait, Ichigo has a point. If Uryu's the one who shot it down then it couldn't come back to life so easily."

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"Soul Reapers purify souls and rebirth them anew. Quincy powers destroy souls in their entirety," Rukia stated.

"Maybe they're not the same then," Colette said, "Maybe that creature was just a…I think the professor's terminology would be a fail-safe. You know, to protect the core from grave robbers."

"But if that were the case Ventus should've recognized Emil as a Knight of Ratatosk and Ratatosk' core on Marta's forehead," Tenebrae stated.

"We're thinking about things too much," I grumbled and swiped Ventus' core off the altar.

"Ichigo, wait! That's dangerous!" Marta snatched Ventus' core out of my hands.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?"

"Ichigo, Lady Marta just protected your sanity. Show a little gratitude," Tenebrae said with a little bit of an attitude.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Tenebrae, as usual, was prepared with an explanation, "When Centurions are in a core state, they're dormant. During that time their power is out of control. They can attract monsters and cause abnormalities in nature, even disasters. It's impossible for human beings to maintain their sanity while in contact with such a powerful being."

"Wait are you serious?" I asked.

"If a normal person holds a Centurion's core, they get drawn into its chaos, and their mind is destroyed, which is why you shouldn't even think about touching it," Marta said meticulously.

"But what about you? You're holding the core right now," Rukia pointed out.

Marta pointed to the core on her forehead, "I have Ratatosk's protection so I'll be ok." She lowered her arm. "You, Rukia, Emil and Colette need to be careful."

"All right, geez," I sighed.

"Lady Marta, please hatch the core," Tenebrae told her.

"Right," Marta said. She held the core with both hands, as if she was holding a lunch tray, closed her eyes and focused her energy. The core levitated above her hands. Marta opened her eyes and lifted her arms up. The core floated high into the air. The seed like object peeled away, as if the seed shape was just the skin on a piece of fruit, revealing a green orb with a pair of white wings etched into it, like a symbol of some sort.

"Ventus has awoken," Tenebrae stated and turned towards Emil, "As Ventus' powers return, as a Knight of Ratatosk, you should also awaken to new powers."

"But since Ventus is the centurion of wind we'll need to recruit wind elemental monsters right?" I asked.

"Correct," Tenebrae stated, "However, Emil should awaken to new powers simply from hatching Ventus."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I guess I'll find out next time I go into battle," Emil said.

"Ow," Marta yelped we all looked over to our serpent friend, which was had nipped her finger and was now twitching, as was the wolf, and the imp. They all started to glow white.

"Marta are you ok?" Emil asked her.

"I'm fine, it's just a little bite on the hand, no skin broken," she said. "But if you want to look," she said squirming in place, "I don't mind."

"N-no that's ok," Emil said taking a half a step back, "If you think it's nothing it's not a big deal."

"Tenebie, Are they all evolving?" Colette asked referring to the monsters

"Yes," Tenebrae stated, "It seems that Emil's sudden increase in power, and the use of his unison attack to defeat such a powerful foe, has allowed our monster companions to evolve. And my name is Tenebrae"

"That's so awesome," Marta danced in place.

"Well hopefully they'll reflect to be something a little more menacing than a wolf cub, a half-foot hollow-imitator and a cobra mixed with a skink," I said.

"I wonder which one will evolve first," Rukia said, "Of course none of them will be as awesome and cute as my little Cotton," she hugged her Rabbit companion. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

The first to evolve was the serpent. It took the shape of a bi-pedal reptile with wings. It looked like the cross between a Tyrannosaurus-Rex and a chicken. It had blue scales and a yellow crest on its head. It was about half an inch shorter than Rukia's rabbit and had a good amount of sharp fangs. "It appears our serpent friend has evolved to the Lizard class," Tenebrae declared.

"Well at least it looks a little menacing," I said. The next thing to evolve was the imp. All it did was double in size and its outer skin turned green. "That's it?"

"It appears our imp friend has evolved into a classification of monster known as a Gremlin," Tenebrae stated.

"Ok that just leaves the wolf then," Rukia said.

The wolf transformed until it was its full grown size. Before it had been about the size of a cub, now it was fully grown. Its fur was a mix of dark gray and beige as opposed to blue-gray before. "A black wolf, simply splendid," Tenebrae cheered.

"What's so great about a monster that's barely bigger than you?" I asked.

"How rude," Tenebrae jeered, "Black Wolves are the heart and soul of the dark elemental monsters. They are the most common breed of dark elemental monster and they are by far the easiest to tame."

"Wait, so monsters can change elements when they evolve?" I asked.

"They can indeed. Our serpent friend was originally of the fire elemental affiliation but is now of the water element," Tenebrae stated.

"Water element," Emil took half a step back in fright.

"Do not fret. This Lizard is on our side. Because of Aqua's abandonment most water elemental monsters are neutral or are loyal to Lord Ratatosk. Rest assured this lizard is loyal to you and only you Emil," Tenebrae assured the kid.

"O-okay," Emil seemed to be at ease with that explanation.

"Well now what?" I asked.

"First thing's first," Rukia said, "We should get out of this hole."

"Indeed," Tenebrae agreed.

Asgard

Emil's pov

We arrived back on the surface; the only monster of mine that hadn't been de-summoned was Cotton. Rukia refused to allow it out of her sight despite the fact that it was now too big for her to carry.

"You know I may have had my doubts before, but Byakuya is never going to let you keep a rabbit that big," Ichigo told Rukia.

"Says you," Rukia huffed.

"Say Colette," I said, "What are you going to do now?"

"Emil's right," Marta added, "The wind's died down so Asgard is safe."

Colette didn't respond. I looked over to her. She seemed kind of down, "Colette?"

"Hey, are you okay?" Marta asked her.

"I'm worried about Lloyd," she said and picked her head up, getting all pent up, "If Centurion's cores are as dangerous if you say and Lloyd is collecting them then…"

"Hey yeah, maybe that's it," Ichigo joined the conversation.

Rukia did too, "Yes if Lloyd is after Centurion's cores perhaps that would explain his sudden change in attitude and his fit of rage in attacking Matsumoto-fukutaicho."

"Rukia…is Rangiku really…" Colette said depressingly.

Rukia walked up to Colette and put a hand on her shoulder, "She has the battle scars to prove it Colette. I'm sorry."

"Colette, you should come with us," Ichigo said, "We're all after Lloyd. And when we find him we can tell him about the dangers of the cores."

"Thank you Ichigo," Colette said, "But I'm going to go my own way from here."

"But why?" Rukia asked.

"Did you guys see Yuan at all?" Colette asked.

"Yeah, he acted like he had a bug up his ass," Ichigo said.

Colette was confused, "He wasn't that way to me."

"He wasn't?" I inquired.

"He told me that he was too busy to tell me where Lloyd was, but that if I was looking for him that I'd better use my goddess given wings and fly after him because Lloyd acquired a Rheaird," Colette said.

"You call that not being stuck up?" Marta questioned with a glazed look.

"So that's how he escaped us so fast back in Luin," Ichigo said.

"What's a Rheaird?" I asked.

"It's a flying machine that runs on Mana. It's easier travel than flash step. If Lloyd's got one of those we'd never be able to catch up with him on our own. Colette has wings so she can fly," Ichigo explained.

"That's right," I watched as bright pink wings emanated from Colette's back. They were amazing. "That's why I'm going to go after Lloyd like this."

"Well good luck," Ichigo told her.

"Thank you," Colette beamed.

"Colette! Wait!" Marta called out to her.

"Huh? What is it?" Colette said.

"I just want to say…I'm sorry," Marta said.

"You're…sorry? For what?" Colette wanted to know.

"For shoving you earlier," Marta answered, "I…still can't forgive you for what happened to my Mom, but I know you never meant for that to happen to Palmacosta."

"Marta," Colette seemed happy. I was too. I was glad Marta and Colette were getting along.

"We're friends…right?" Marta tilted her head.

"Yes absolutely!" Colette beamed. She then looked around to the rest of us, "Um…so I guess I'll see you all around."

"Take care Colette," Ichigo told her.

"I will," Colette smiled and flew away.

"Well let's get a move on," Ichigo said.

"Where?" I asked.

"Where else? To the inn," he said.

"Isn't your family going to worry about you if you stay overnight, and what about Sheena?" Rukia asked him.

"I've made overnight trips here before so it's no big deal. And Sheena doesn't know I'm here. It's a little disappointing, but it's got to wait. Saving the world comes first," Ichigo told her.

"Well, all right, suit yourself," Rukia and Ichigo walked off towards the inn. Marta and I followed suit.

"Well she's gone," I said, referring to Colette.

"Yeah," Marta agreed.

"You know for someone who's supposed to be the Chosen of Regeneration, Colette wasn't aloof at all. She was pretty down to earth," I said.

"If by down to Earth you mean ditzy, then yeah," Marta stated, taking a jab at her.

"Ok so she was a little spacey, but there was something soothing about her," I said.

"Oh, so she soothed you did she?" Marta asked, slightly irked.

How did that tick her off? I wondered, "N-no…I-I mean…I-I just found it easy to relax around her."

"That sounds like soothing to me," Marta said raising her voice.

"Why are you getting so angry?" I asked nervously.

"Who says I'm angry?" Marta stomped away. I sighed.

The next morning

Outskirts of Asgard

Ichigo's pov

We gathered at the town entrance to discuss our next course of action. "So, this is your journey Marta, where to?" I asked.

"Well I thought we could possibly get some information on Lloyd if we go to Iselia, that's his hometown right?" she asked.

"Iselia's on the other side of the ocean though," I reminded her.

"Then we'll charter a boat," she declared.

"Palmacosta it is then," Rukia sighed, "Looks like there's no way around it."

"Something wrong Rukia?" I asked.

"It's nothing," she muttered something to herself.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"If I wanted you to hear it I would've said it louder," Rukia said.

"Well, excuse me," I said.

"Um, I don't exactly know what the problem is, but we're going to Palmacosta right?" Emil asked.

I nodded. "Well then shall we depart?" Tenebrae asked. We all agreed and headed off.

Hakonesia Peak

In order to get to Palmacosta we had to pass through Hakonesia Peak. I remembered when I came here on my first journey here. It was when Magnius was causing a ruckus in Palmacosta. Before I could fully start reminiscing though I was pulled by my collar.

"What's the big id…" Rukia placed her hand over my mouth.

"Shh," she pointed farther down the hill where Hawk and Alice were.

"A messenger has just informed us that the Chosen is headed in the direction of Luin," Hawk told Alice.

"Aww, Decus is in charge of that area right now," Alice faux whined, "That's no fun. Guess we should focus on the Centurion's cores."

"Also we have word that Lady Marta seems to be headed in this direction," Hawk told her.

How'd they know we were coming? I wondered.

Alice lit up, "Oh Martmart's coming?" she giggled, "Then I'll leave the Centurion's cores to you Hawkie and I'll set up a little ambush for our sweet little Martmart when she arrives in Palmacosta." Alice and Hawk then split up.

"Marta?" Emil looked at her.

"We don't have much of a choice. We'll just have to do our best to steer clear of Alice," she said.

"Hey if it comes down to it, I'm sure your knight will be more than happy to protect you," I pat Emil on the back.

Marta gasped with glee. "You're right," she looked at Emil like she was an innocent little maiden, "What would I do without you?"

Emil laughed nervously, taking half a step back.

Rukia was the next to say something, "Come on, we shouldn't dawdle." We all agreed and started heading down the mountain only for Emil to freeze in place and start hyperventilating.

"Emil!" I ran over to him. He just held his hands to his head and started screaming.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" I started shaking him. After a few moments he started to calm down. His breathing regulated. "What the heck was that all about?"

"I…I don't know. I-I had this weird this weird vision all of a sudden. M-maybe it was a dream," he said.

"Do you want to take a rest?" Rukia asked, "having a premonition like that completely out of nowhere isn't exactly something you should brush off."

Emil shook his head, "No, I'm fine," he responded, "Let's go."

"His color seems to have mostly returned. It's probably safe to keep going," Tenebrae said before anyone else could say anything.

"See? Tenebrae thinks I'm fine too," Emil said, almost as if resting would be a bad thing.

"All right, if you say so," I shrugged.

"If you don't feel well let us know," Rukia said.

"And if you want to rest you can use my lap as a pillow," Marta added, beaming.

"I-I'm fine…really," Emil blushed.

"Well then, shall we keep going?" Tenebrae asked. We all agreed.

Palmacosta

"It's been six months," Emil stated.

"Sounds about right," Rukia stated.

"Wait? That Blood Purge thing happened six months ago?" I asked, "With the way you're all hanging on about it, it seemed like it was something recent."

"Clearance to Soul Society takes a while and even then it's not like Matsumoto-fukutaicho would be recovering any time soon with the injuries she received," Rukia stated.

I sighed, "So what do we do?"

"Let's split up and see what kind of information we can gather," Marta said.

"Wait, I thought we were just seeing if we could get a boat to Iselia," I said.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to check to see if Lloyd's been here," Rukia stated, "It's like nii-sama always tells me 'the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime'."

"Well that's fine and all," Emil put in, "But what about Alice?"

"We'll break up into groups of three then," Marta said.

"Groups of three?" Emil questioned, "But there's only five of us including Tenebrae."

"Ahem," I cleared my throat and then pointed to the cotton tail near Rukia.

"O-oh right," Emil realized his mistake.

"Let's split up according to gender," Marta suggested.

"Wait why?" Emil asked.

"Marta has a good idea there," Rukia defended Marta's decision, "Alice seems to have a 'thing' for Ichigo and if Tenebrae is with you guys he can locate us via Ratatosk's core."

"Besides, there are a few things I want to ask Rukia about her investigation with the vanguard, amongst other things," Marta stated. I could only imagine what "other things" was in reference to when she shot an unconscious glance towards Emil.

"Well if everyone's ok with the groups let's split up then," I said. We each went our separate ways. Marta, Rukia and Cotton headed off to the docks and Emil, Tenebrae and I headed east towards the governor's building. As we did we noticed someone we both recognized.

"Richter!" Emil ran over to him.

"Emil, wait!" I called out to him, but then figured so long as Marta wasn't with us I guess Richter didn't have much of a reason to act hostile towards him…I wasn't so sure about myself. I sighed and approached them both.

Richter turned around just as I caught up with Emil, "Oh Emil and…Ichigo?"

"Huh, what is it?" I asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just going to safely assume the 'you' I saw earlier with a guy wearing wooden shoes and a dark skinned woman was your mod-soul."

"Yeah, I'm still battle ready…wait you saw Kon?" I asked.

"I did, but I didn't approach, I'm not exactly the social type," he stated.

"That figures," I said, "Where were you when you saw them?" I asked.

"The Research City of Sybak, why?" he asked.

"Just want to keep track is all," I said, "Anyways what are you doing here? And where's Aqua?"

"I could ask you the same question. What brings you both to Palmacosta?" he asked, completely ignoring my other question.

Emil was the one to answer, "I'm on a journey. I'm looking for Lloyd and the Centurion's cores. Anyway are you ok? You were hurt pretty badly."

"There's still some pain, but I have only myself to blame. The fact that I lost to such a fool pains me more," Richter stated.

Oh sure go ahead and answer Emil's questions…and did he just crack a joke?

"Oh Richter! There you are!"

I shuddered, there's only one voice I know that's that annoying. I turned around to see Alice. She walked towards our group, "Richter, are you looking for Martmart too?" She took notice of Emil, "Hey you're Martmart's pet."

I was about to cut in front of Emil, but for some reason Richter beat me to it, "Alice, he is an acquaintance of mine."

"You're on his side?" she asked disbelievingly. She then said sweetly, "You know, if you'd just let me play with him a little, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tell us where Martmart is."

Richter drew his weapons, "I said he's my acquaintance," he said getting angry, "If you don't know what that means!"

"Ooh, so scary," Alice pretended to be intimidated. She then took notice of me, "Oh, Berry Onii-chan you're here too."

I glared at her, "What's it to you?"

"Richter, I'm sure you don't have any problem letting me talk to him for a few minutes do you?" Alice asked.

"He may not, but I do. We're enemies," I told her.

"Now, now," Alice said tapping her riding crop into her hand, "The only enemy around her for me is Martmart."

"Oh really, what about what happened in Asgard?" I asked her.

"You were just assimilating with my enemy; I don't hold that against you." She started talking like a little child again, "Can't we just have a little conversation as two people?"

"I-Ichigo," Emil seemed worried for me.

"Relax, if she's nicknamed me she probably won't try anything. I'll be back in a little bit. Whatever you do, don't tell Marta or Rukia."

"O-okay," Emil answered.

"Yay," Alice beamed, "Let's go inside the academy. We have the first floor rented out so no one will bother us."

Palmacosta Academy

Empty Classroom

I made sure Alice entered the room in front of me and I made sure she was the one to close the door after I entered. Just to be cautious. I sat down in the teacher's seat and put my feet up on the desk, "So what do you want?"

"I have a proposition for you Berry Onii-chan," she said, "I was wondering if you might consider joining the Vanguard."

"Oh sure," I said nonchalantly and then moved my feet off the desk and slammed them on the ground and my hands on the desk, "When pigs fly!"

"That can be arranged," Alice smiled sweetly.

"You're missing the point!" I shouted, "The hell makes you think I would want to join the Vanguard?"

"Do you even know what the Vanguard stands for Berry Onii-chan?" Alice asked me.

"That's…" I didn't actually.

"The Vanguard is our nickname, but our true name is the Sylvaranti Liberation Front. We were created so that we could liberate the Sylvaranti. For someone who hasn't been here in a while though it should come as no surprise," she said.

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Richter told me, or didn't you know he was a member of the Vanguard?" she asked.

"Um…no not really," I admitted. "So what do the Sylvaranti need liberating from anyway?"

"From the Tethe'allans. Ever since the world was regenerated the Sylvaranti have been slandered and looked upon as Neanderthals by the Tethe'allan people. We're trying to show that we are equal," Alice told me.

"And fighting is how you choose to solve your problems? You started the Blood Purge to show your patriotism and Palmacosta is a Sylvarant city!" I shouted.

"Oh we didn't start it. It was all the Church of Martel's doing. We were keeping Ratatosk's core and holding ourselves up here to protect the town from Lloyd and the Church of Martel," Alice said and pointed her riding crop at me, "And that's why we need you. Commander Brute needs a strong figurehead and I think you'll do just fine. After all you're the only one I know with power to stand up to Lloyd, Berry Onii-chan."

"Would you stop calling me that? You act like you know me, but I don't know you at all. I think I'd remember a blonde, sadistic little twerp," I told her acrimoniously.

She giggled, "I've broken people's arms to the point where the bones stick out of their skin for talking that way to me, but since it's you I'll forgive you. And if you don't remember who I am, then I have one thing to say to you: it was twenty months ago. The location was Asgard."

Flashback

3rd Person pov

A couple of villagers were beating up on a small half-elven girl. She had blonde hair and was wearing rags. Her friend, a human, was face down in the dirt, unconscious, having tried to stand up for her, and failed miserably. The half-elf girl had tried to defend herself with magic, but the bullies were holding her arms and one was beating up on her with a Shinai. The blonde half-elf stood there with a fierce look on her face.

"Geez how many more times do we have to hit her? She's not even crying," one of the bullies said.

"I won't cry," the half-elf girl cried out, "I'm not the usual pathetic half-elf you beat up. I don't give in just because you think you've beaten me. When I get out of this bind I'll make you all pay!"

One of the bullies kicked her in the stomach. The blonde half-elf felt every bit of the pain from the strike and tried her hardest not to flinch. "Man this is getting boring," one of the bullies said.

"I know let's rip off her clothes and have a little fun with her. It's not like anyone's going to care about some pathetic half-elf," another bully suggested.

The blonde half-elf began to struggle. Physical pain she could take. She was used to it, but rape was something entirely different. She managed to break free and fell to the ground on her stomach. Bad position. Someone help me. She thought to herself.

"What the hell is going on over here?" A boisterous voice thundered.

"Cheese it! It's Ichigo Kurosaki!" The bullies ran off in scampered directions.

The blonde half-elf girl looked over to the orange haired teen she saw him turn towards a figure next to him and say something, but she could hardly hear anything as the pain was finally catching up to her, and the sunlight was blocking her vision. "I…chi…go…Kuro…saki." She muttered to herself and the last thing she saw was orange hair before she blacked out.

End Flashback

Ichigo's pov

"So, what are you stalking me or something?" I asked.

"Not at all," Alice shook her head, "I just admire you a great deal for that. You saved my life. When I came to I didn't know anything about you of course so Decus and I traveled so I could find out more about you. I was really impressed when I found out how much of a hero you were Berry Onii-chan."

"Why are you calling me that anyway? I'm not named after a strawberry you know," I told her.

"Oh?" she questioned.

"That's right," I said, "Ichi means one and go means protector so 'one protector'."

"Maybe it's that way where you come from but not here," Alice giggled. I growled under my breath. "So have you thought about my proposal?"

"If I said no," I said, and put a hand on Zangetsu's handle, "Would you try to stop me from leaving?"

"I told you before didn't I? You and I aren't enemies so long as you're not with Martmart. Chaos needs not come between you and me, Berry Onii-chan," She tilted her head and smiled innocently.

"Sorry, but I can't join the Vanguard. I promised Emil I'd help him look for Lloyd and he promised Marta he'd help her awaken Ratatosk, besides I'd turn Soul Society on me if I joined up with you. And getting on their bad side is not something you want to do, consider that a fair warning from a neutral party," I told Alice.

"I'll be sure to report that little tidbit to Commander Brute when I see him," Alice said, tapping her riding crop to her hand again. I made for the door. "If you ever change your mind though Berry Onii-chan all you have to do is ask."

"Whatever," I said and shut the door behind me. I don't know what's right anymore. I thought I had a clear cut view of right and wrong, but now…I don't know what's right anymore. The Vanguard's a symbol of the Sylvaranti's Liberation and then there's Richter, a member, calling Ratatosk a Demon Lord. Alice said the Blood Purge was the fault of the Church of Martel. What's right, what's wrong? I sighed, "I seriously don't know anymore."

To be continued…

(A/N: So Alice has turned out to be a Stalker with a Crush it seems. Poor Decus, wait until he finds out. And she's also given Ichigo food for thought. Yeah she was really vague and omitting the fact that the vanguard is a bunch of terrorist extremists, but hey you do what you gotta do when you're trying to recruit someone. And yeah Emil's monsters all evolved. No Ichigo mimicking Emil this chapter surprisingly. Tch, I'm losing my touch. Any who, it's late, I'm tired and I have an exam tomorrow. See you all later. Remember to review!)