- Fighting for Acceptance -

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the wolf pup.

AN: This chapter may include severe adorability(not an actual word) painfully cute antics and may cause eyes to water, some side effects include cooing, loss of ability to concentrate, and poor quality of coherent speech... Don't worry, you'll know what I mean when you get there.

- Chapter Seven – Warnings

Twenty pounds. That's how heavy Sheena's new pet was after only a week of caring for him. Once referred to as a runt, Verus could be seen leaping and bounding around in pursuit of a grasshopper. His rear in the air with his tail wagging playfully as his light blue paws came together with the earth over the small insect. Feeling it moving around under his pads, curiosity got the better of him, and he immediately moved his paws to inspect his catch, only to have it scramble away again.

Sheena watched contentedly from her spot on the grass a short distance away, a forest spreading out behind her and an open plain in front of her, the seashore beyond that. Even from so far away she could smell the salt in the air, carried by the wind from a few miles away. Without obstructions, the ocean could be seen with the sky above it failing in its attempt to mirror the water, spraying multiple colors over the blue with the sunset.

A rustling from behind her and Sheena glanced to see Zelos emerge from the brush, a load of firewood in his arms before depositing it into a pile on the ground and clapped his hands of any dirt they had collected from the chore. "Is he still at it?" the man wanted to know, his expression clumsy with astonishment as the wolf pup couldn't seem to capture his prey anymore.

Sheena nodded with a hint of a smile but little interest otherwise. "He caught it a few times but he keeps letting it go." The words came out, but it didn't seem as though she was the one that said them, her mind was elsewhere.

"I still don't understand how he grew so much, it's only been a week since we found him."

Sheena didn't reply to that, rather, her eyes remained fixed on the cub as he continued undaunted after the grasshopper, but after catching sight of a butterfly he quickly lost interest in the hopping bug and leaped up, swatting at the airborne insect instead.

"Sheena?" Zelos questioned worriedly after noting her broken gaze. "You alright?" He knelt down beside her and applied a hand to her cheek in a gesture of endearment but also served in checking her temperature.

Again the ninja did not reply, but had found a bitter sweetness in the moment as Verus, time after time, launched himself at his prey. She couldn't contain a sob among her new laughter after the wolf had knocked the butterfly out of the air, scrambling and pawing after it rapidly as it limped away for its life.

Zelos, a bit thrown off by the... Wait, what was that anyway, a mood swing maybe? She hadn't cried since they were in Flanoir, so naturally he was at a loss. He shook his head of the distraction and carefully pulled her to him in a comforting embrace, but she did not respond by submitting nor resisting towards the contact, and that in itself was confirmation enough for Zelos to know that something was wrong.

The new sound of sadness fused with laughter was hard for him to decipher, so much so that he didn't know whether he should smile or frown, either way he felt stupid. Her barely audible weeping was not getting better nor worse, in fact, time and again Zelos had to question whether she was actually crying or not, leaving him with little options and a brilliant lack of an explanation.

Luckily Verus was coming to the man's rescue as his ears perked up curiously, pivoting with the high pitched sound of Sheena's scarce cries. He immediately ran to her, almost tripping over his own paws in an awkward rush to get to her. Replying to her cries with his own inquisitive whines and chirps, he set himself in her lap, licking and nudging her hands with his short snout.

"Look Sheena, Verus is worried about you," Zelos observed, hoping to draw her out enough so that he might be able to better aid the situation. "So am I," he failed to mention. At least back in Flanoir he knew what the issue was before she broke down, but now he didn't know if she simply had a sudden loathing for sunsets or if something about Verus killing a helpless butterfly had some sort of offensive nature to it. Zelos scrutinized the little four legged animal for second before discarding that thought. The little fuzz ball could do no wrong in Sheena's eyes.

Verus yelped in something of a confirmation, gazing up to his surrogate mother with beaming yellow eyes with the sole purpose of radiating eagerness. He obviously couldn't comprehend the problem, but even as young as he was, he could still sense an imbalance in her.

The sky darkened and the moments lapsed as Zelos forced himself to stay silent until Sheena's breathing eased into a slow norm.

Sheena worked on synchronizing her breathing with his and concentrated on his heartbeat, because that was one thing that was steady and consistent, something she could actually believe in and cling to. At the same time she knew he wanted an answer for all of this, but until she understood why she felt like crying and laughing at the same time, she didn't trust herself to explain anything.

It wasn't of happiness or a sadness even, it was more of an emptiness, one of which Verius had warned her about and yet she had overlooked it, or rather, ignored it due to the harsh reality of the alternative.

She was just starting to accept the sanity of the situation, and all that it entailed, when it seemed that Zelos couldn't stand the silence anymore. "I was only gone a few minutes, did you really miss me that much hunny?" he joked between a chuckle and an exhale, referring to when he had left to fetch firewood, but he was getting desperate when nothing else seemed to be working.

Sheena addressed that question with a pathetic, short laugh as she wiped her eyes of the few tears that had collected there. "I told myself I wasn't going to cry anymore," she admitted, setting her jaw angrily but letting the tension go soon after, finally ready to make her explanation. "It's just, I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to be happy right now." For once, she was hoping for some encouraging feedback as she actually allowed herself to lean further against his chest, absently toying with one of his cascading red locks.

"And just what makes you think that?" Zelos wanted to know, obliging her silent request as his voice was renewed with a vibrant confidence. Resting his chin on her head, he closed his eyes solemnly as he spoke. "You're much more qualified to be happy than I am, you work hard, you care about everyone deserving, and even those not, even seemingly worthless monst-I mean animals," he mended the last part hastily with a sheepish grin, hoping to mask his mistake behind innocence.

Sheena smiled and took a deep breath to rid her lungs of any lingering hitch before speaking again. "He's not worthless, he makes me happy," she replied, looking down to the creature and noting warmly as the pup's ears twitched with every word she said.

"Yeah, he makes you so happy that you're forced to laugh when you cry, and I'm guessing the sole purpose in that is to confuse me by the way," he told her, and moaned inwardly, knowing their tender contact would soon end when he felt his mind sneaking ever so closely to the gutter. "So do you plan on telling me what's really bothering you, or are you gonna let me hold you like this all night? Because to be honest, I think I could get used to-"

"Zelos."

"Yes Sheena?"

She sighed, already exasperated with him. "Don't make me smack you."

"Surely you wouldn't smack little old me,"

"Oh yes I would, especially if that hand moves even one more centimeter toward-"

"It's just your imagination, I assure you."

A growl of annoyance and Sheena pushed away from him, putting a screeching halt to that setting as she went about readjusting Verus on her lap. Due to the short attention span of a puppy, as well as a full day of romping about on the open field, he was a sad victim of sleep by now.

Letting her go without resistance, Zelos smiled, happy to have finally prevailed in improving her mood. Even if it would be short lived, since he could tell she was ready to talk at this point. And while waiting for her explanation he stood up and began to construct their campfire out of the half hazard pile of sticks and branches on the ground where he'd left them earlier.

The sun had long since dropped below the surface of the water, leaving only the moon and the stars to illuminate the night. That was hardly enough to ward of hungry monsters, or cook their dinner for that matter. So Zelos busied himself with both tasks, as had been his habit of late.

Sheena sighed in an eminent discomfort as she stroked Verus' head in hopes that the procedure would somehow make the words come easier. "After that last town we visited today," she began, watching blankly as the fire came to life in front of her. "There's not much else for me to do away from home until either the negotiations are decided throughout the circuit of settlements we just finished delivering the treaty to, or the king gives me another assignment. Either way that means I'll be returning home for a week or two."

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it? You'll get to spend more time with Igaguri right?" Zelos wondered while setting up a small pot over the fire, intending on cooking a stew.

"Yeah... I guess," Sheena's reply was distant, almost regretful.

"Somehow, I thought you'd be happier about that."

"I know I should want to spend as much time as I can with him... But this just isn't how I want to remember him after he dies, and so that's what makes it hard for me to go back and be reminded of his sickness every time I see him," she confessed shamefully. "It's because I'm afraid, I'm afraid Zelos! Because I don't know what I should be thinking, what I should be feeling, or more importantly, what I should be doing." Always the stubborn one, Sheena couldn't bring herself to admit that to him, or anyone, even accepting it herself was a trial; the fact that she was afraid of something that she couldn't even put into words.

"But I thought you said the rest of the village didn't know about his sickness, if it's that obvious how is it no one else suspects?" At this point Zelos was also in a conflict with himself, on the one hand he wanted her to say what it was that bothered her, but on the other it wasn't in his nature to encourage dwelling on things that could not be changed, only endured, and then forgotten.

"The rest of the village just thinks it's old age, what they don't know is that he only has a few months left," she answered, her eyes focused on the ground and void of any depth, her mind was slipping back into that pit of helplessness.

Zelos frowned, dismayed by the fact that Sheena really had no idea how much she was bringing him down with her. But he would fight it, with tooth and nail, and sword and fire if needed, whatever it took, he would do, in order for him to be that constant pillar of sanity for her, or otherwise in some cases.

As if on cue for his occupation as the distraction, Verus yawned, coming alive after smelling the beef in the stew Zelos had just started preparing. If it wasn't strange for a puppy to go from five pounds to twenty within the time span of a week, then it likewise wasn't very surprising when he had taken an immediate liking to meat. Aside from solving that mysterious barrier which prevented him from getting to that glorious type of food, he had also been able to conceive the bad habit of stealing morsels off a plate when one's head was turned. And he knew all too well which human to target; it was that man, stirring the pot with a stick, he was so stupid sometimes!

"Well, cheer up hunny," Zelos chirped, completely oblivious to the lower conspiring going on as he spoke, trying to regain his usual exuberance as he took a sip of the stew, testing its taste and texture "You only have to survive a couple weeks without me, you can manage that, right?"

Verus licked the air longingly from his spot on his caretaker's lap and looked up to her expectantly; as far as he was concerned, the food was all that mattered. Sheena, though, was not paying the cub any mind, instead she glared at the man across from her as he dished up the meal into three bowls. "I think the question is, will you survive? Without my supervision, there's no telling how much trouble you'll get into once you go back to Meltokio."

As he moved to hand one bowl to her, something shifted in his heightened senses, something in the trees, but he did little more then glance in the direction, instead he masked his suspicion masterfully, sending her a wry grin. "Aw, Sheena, that's sweet, does that mean you'll be thinking about me while I'm away?"

"There's no way I'm admitting to that, you're ego is big enough already," was the raven haired woman's retort. She was oblivious to the disturbance, Zelos noted with relief as he set another bowl on the ground for Verus. And like a shot he was off of Sheena's lap, inhaled its contents, and was sitting in front of Zelos, all in a seemingly smooth, and well practiced, motion.

After glancing down to see those cute, yellow glowing eyes, Zelos, unaffectedly, spooned a portion of food into his mouth and afterward, merely stuck his tongue out at the animal. "Don't think so Bud."

"Oh yes, very mature Zelos."

"What?" the man asked, looking to her incredulously, which was a mistake in itself. "He ate already, for the love of mana, he is big enough!"

Suppressed laughter on Sheena's part alerted him all too belatedly of the wolf now lapping up what was left of his portion in the bowl, still in his hands. "Gah! Not again!" He glared daggers at the pup but Verus did little more than wag his tail before licking the man's nose and hightailing it back to Sheena, who herself, had just finished eating and started preparing for bed.

"One of these days Verus," Zelos grumbled jabbing a finger at the beast in accusation. Verus regarded him placidly, all innocence, but Zelos knew better and went on mumbling. "Little demon."

Sheena hadn't bothered to correct the cub, because apparently, she had found some sort of twisted enjoyment out of the performance each night.

Zelos waited as the two of them settled in for the night before looking to the forest in apprehension. He started for the path he'd used before but was caught even before taking two steps in that direction. "Zelos? Did you see something?" Sheena asked from her bed roll.

"Yeah, don't worry love, it's just a snake. I'll get it. Go back to sleep."

The summoner nodded tiredly and, without an argument, let her head loll back down to do as she was told, her eyes too worn out to be held open any longer, and her mind to weak to search his words for authenticity.

A few long moments through the woodland and Zelos paused immediately after walking into a clearing among the trees. He glancing up at the canopy with one hand hanging over the hilt of his weapon.

Another moment later and he smirked, closing his eyes in a blind confidence. "You're a lot like your brother," he observed favorably, perhaps attempting to ward off the intruder with sickly pleasantries. "You both seem to enjoy sneaking up behind me." Zelos turned to meet his guest, his blue eyes flashed with a greeting, taking in the form of a ninja in seconds. "Kuchinawa, was it?"

"Chosen," replied the said ninja, neither aggression nor peace reigned above his tone, he was here on equal terms; to negotiate, though the casual spinning of a throwing knife in one hand held the slight hiss of a warning in the air.

"Former," Zelos corrected shortly, waving his free hand around as though the title hindered him. Aside from the hand that gripped his sword, Zelos was all but a pleasant host to the exiled ninja, though behind his casual appearance slept a loathing of brimstone, awaiting its resurrection to blaze. This was the man that had made an attempt at Sheena's life, and in the world of Zelos Wilder, there were very few things with the power to reverse such a grudge. "Anyway, let's get straight to business shall we? What do you want with Sheena this time?"

"My business here does not involve the chief, well, not directly anyway," Kuchinawa answered, breaking eye contact with Zelos for a mere instant before they were once again locked on to either his expression, his stance, or the imprisoned blade at his side.

"Oh really?" Zelos question skeptically. "Then what, pray tell, is your business with me?" Since there was really nothing else at risk, unless of course the guy had something against wolves, but that was unlikely.

"It's very simple," the banished ninja started. "Stay away from Sheena, and I won't kill you."

Zelos flinched, nearly disgusted with the phrase. "Geez, that's kinda cliché don't ya think? I mean, am I sensing some sort of jealousy angle in all of this?"

"Hardly." The shuriken halted it's spin, leaving a dangerous silence between the two men.

"A man a few words I see," Zelos replied as a sneer slowly made its appearance on his features, but was promptly shrugged away. "Well, whatever the case, if Sheena allows it, then I don't plan on leaving her to travel alone, so whatever it is you planned on doing before you came here," he paused, long enough for his left hand to rest on his scabbard in preparation. "What say we just settle it now, before the tension has a chance to fester?"

Kuchinawa shifted, more or less slightly baffled by the challenge. "I do not plan on fighting you here. And if you do not heed my warning then I will kill you on my own terms."

"Now hold on a second will ya?" the swordsman growled. If there was one thing he couldn't wave a smirk at, it was when people dictated what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and how. Living with that sort of tyranny all his life, he was hardly going to simply smile and nod at the suggestion. "Maybe we can compromise on something, just give me an explanation."

"The threat should suffice."

"It doesn't."

Becoming rather vexed, Kuchinawa half turned, preparing to depart. "I have no grudge against you Chosen," said the male ninja, purposely avoiding the use of his name. "It simply doesn't matter to me whether you live or die, either way is fine by me."

"That's not an answer," Zelos accused curtly.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are not entitled to one." With that, the ninja was gone, a few leaves circled around in the disrupted air which he had occupied only seconds before.

"Not entitled to," Zelos repeated to himself, a distaste brought to him by the statement. "Like my freedom?" He listened to the soft breeze, as if awaiting the answer as it passed through the clearing. After a moment, he started his way back to Sheena, Kuchinawa's warning fresh in the redhead's mind but was swiftly dismissed with the wind. "What a joke."

o-o-o