Chapter 10: Heart
(Tis the Verius chapter, and the last chapter as well. I'd like to thank my wonderfully faithful Arctic Husky, Twilight Trinity, and Kitsu Kurasei, who have reviewed most of the chapters of this, AND Retribution. Thanks for stickin' with me, guys. And thanks to my new reviewers. To name a few who reviewed the majority of the chapters, thankies to Sundiz Star, ImperialGuardian09, phantom4angel, Faye Zepher, I-Luff-Cheese, and Nahrali. Special thanks to silverfox09, who not only read both Retribution AND this, but gave pre-game fics a chance so they could read my Origin chapter, despite earlier dislike toward such fics. And thanks to those of you who read all my chapters, or even some, those of you who just didn't review. )
It's quite an interesting sensation, gazing into one's own eyes. One would expect to be able to read them, to understand their secrets, since those secrets are, after all, one's own. But Zelos Wilder had never felt more a stranger than gazing into the eyes of his reflection as he sat before his mirror. As much as he seemed to love himself on the outside, on the inside, the redhead hated himself and all that he stood for. That distaste shone through in his eyes as he looked upon his reflection, and in turn, the man in the mirror gazed back at him with that same unbridled abhorrence. Because of this, he couldn't meet his own gaze for very long...
It brought to mind the saying, 'you are your own worst enemy'. He didn't know where he'd heard it, but it proved true in many cases. Mithos, for example, brought on his own demise, and his little angel Colette nearly did so as well, with all the sacrificing and whatnot. Even still, he'd never truly understood it until he felt alien looking into his own cerulean eyes.
Zelos knew how others saw him. Always smiling with his entire face, his eyes cordial at the very least, ecstatic at the best, and lecherous at the worst. He was the one who always took things too lightly, to always joke around in the face of sadness or danger, to smile when everybody else looked crestfallen. They'd come to depend on this Zelos to keep them strong.
"What if they knew the real me? Would they still turn to me for support? Would they still wait hopefully for my joking to make everything happy again? Sure they would…" Zelos tried to reassure himself, but a moment later, he laughed dryly. "Hah, don't kid yourself, Zelos. If you weren't the happy one, you'd be useless if not a nuisance. That's the only reason they want you around, for entertainment. Zelos the Jester, eh? It has a nice ring, I guess."
Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. It was quiet, almost hesitant. Zelos jumped nonetheless. Sheena. Had she heard all that? She couldn't. Even though she, of everybody, accepted him for who he was, and she'd seen him 'unmasked', she couldn't have heard what he was saying. He glanced back to the mirror, recalling why he was sitting there to begin with. He'd been about to French-braid his hair, as he did every night so his hair wouldn't be a tangled mess in the morning.
"Zelos?" A tentative voice from in the hall, bringing his mind back to the ninja.
"Goddess, I'm distracted today," he mumbled to himself, shaking his head to clear it, before raising his voice with a singsong, "Come ii-iin!"
Immediately the door opened, and in came the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.
Now if one would pause in their visualization a moment to note a few important points here. Firstly, though Zelos was the sort to claim any woman was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, this time, he truly believed it. And secondly, the Chosen had somehow managed to get the irresistible yet occasionally violent banshee-like Sheena Fujibayashi into his mansion without the use of force, so this definitely says something about his persona. Zelos had changed since the end of the journey, a good four years prior. Sure, he was still a pervert at times, and sure, he could still be obnoxious, but he'd changed. Returning now to the moment at hand…
Shutting the door softly behind her, the ninja padded up behind Zelos and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, in a slow yet hurried fashion that Zelos recognized as a 'hurry up before you lose your nerve' move. She rested her head on his shoulder, gazing into the mirror as well. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
"One word about this, and I'll kill you," she murmured, and despite the threat in the words, they were spoken somewhat affectionately.
In case one can't tell, much has occurred since Sheena had first arrived. She'd made him promise not to ask her anything she didn't want to answer, and he'd made her promise not to disappear in the night one night. Promises made, they'd basically hung around each other, often uncomfortably and even crossly at first, but less and less as time went on. True to his promise, he'd never asked her why she'd come, when she had to leave, or the most recurring question in his mind, if she truly cared about him or not. And true to her promise, she stayed, no matter what he did or said. So his perverted comments and tendencies became less and less amusing the closer the two got, when Zelos began to understand how she truly felt about them, and she became more and more laid-back. At this moment in time, it had been three days since he'd been slapped last. It was a record, and still counting.
"Such an offer would have been tempting before you showed up, my violent little ninja," he replied casually, and she averted her gaze slightly.
"Y'know, I will have to leave eventually…" She reminded him, and he sighed.
"Yeah, I know."
"But when I do, you won't let it tempt you anymore?"
He shook his head.
"Hell, you're just going back to Mizuho. It's not that easy to get rid of me."
"You make it sound like I'm trying to," she shot indignantly, and the redhead laughed.
"Y'know, I remember a day not so long ago when you'd have given your balls to get me out of your life forever…" He gazed off at his wall, reminiscing. Only a moment later, when he saw the indignant look on the face of the ninja, did he realize his mistake. "Ah, um… your boobs? No, I wouldn't let you give those up-"
"Don'tmakemesmackyou," she interrupted shortly, and his eyes widened. He held up his hands in innocence.
"I'm just saying. I remember when you hated me like all the world's problems were my fault."
Sheena paused, looking downcast slightly.
"So do I, Zelos. So do I…"
What happened? She was so happy a minute ago. Zelos fought desperately for his happy face, before plastering a grin on his lips and leaning his head against hers.
"But you don't no more, do ya, Sheena?" He grinned. "Hate me, I mean. I mean, who could hate me? I'm adorable." He put on a pouty face, and she laughed.
"Sure, I'll give you that one."
"Ooh, and I'm funny."
"Whatever you say, Zelos."
"And I'm dead sexy!"
"That one's pushing it."
"Yeah, I figured as much. But the point is, you don't hate me anymore, do you? I mean, what kind of horrible horrible person could hate the poor, innocent, loyal-"
"You sound like you're describing a puppy," Sheena interrupted with amusement, but he continued without acknowledging her words.
"-cute, adorable, lovable-"
"Okay, I get the point-"
"-sweet, huggable, pettable-"
"Zelos."
He stopped to look at her, gazing at the ninja expectantly a moment before grinning.
"Didn't think I could find so many ways to describe the wonderful me, didja?"
Sheena laughed. "No, but you could have stopped at 'poor'."
Zelos made an offended scoffing noise, but no reply. They sat in silence a while, then Sheena withdrew her arms, standing up.
"So is there a reason you're just sitting here?" She prompted, and he looked kinda embarrassed.
"Yeah, actually, I was just getting ready to braid my hair. I always do before I go to bed. I mean, what kind of respectable man would I be to be so cruel as to go to bed and let my beautiful red locks tangle in the night? And… I dunno, I had time now, so I figured I'd do it early..." He explained, expecting her to laugh at him, but she didn't. In fact, after a moment, she grabbed his sleeve.
"Come on back to my room, I'll do it. It's cold in here anyways," the ninja offered, and tugged at his arm slightly. Unwilling to question his good fortune, Zelos followed her down the hall to the room at the end, the one she'd slept in since she first arrived. The moment she opened the door, he was greeted with a comforting warmth, and the Chosen realized how chilly the rest of the house truly was.
The ninja crawled onto her bed, sitting cross-legged facing the end. The redhead sat in front of her, his head tilted back slightly so she could reach the foremost bits of hair, and almost immediately he felt the gentle tugging of fingers combing carefully through his hair. After a minute or so of this, the tugging became a bit less gentle, and a bit more purposed. And the braiding began.
Though it only took about ten minutes to finish, Zelos relished every second of her touch. It's not that he was unused to it; on the contrary, she had been more and more forward as her stay had progressed, though never so forward as to kiss him. The fact of the matter was, she was still a ninja, and ninjas belong in Mizuho. No matter how hard a Mizuhoan tries, they cannot stay away for too long. It is their home, and to a ninja, home is the one thing in their life that is certain. So Zelos knew she would leave him eventually, back to her own life. She would leave him alone and confused, without a backwards glance. That's what he worried about.
"Zelos? What's wrong?"
Her voice interrupted his thoughts, and it was then that he realized she'd finished with his braid, and was sitting and watching him with concern. He grinned, shaking his head.
"Nothing, my voluptuous hunny," came the Chosen's well-rehearsed response. Though she seemed unconvinced, she didn't press the matter. Zelos leaned casually backward, resting gently against the woman behind him, who slipped her arms around him in response.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" She offered her usual reply, and without hesitation, he completed the customary disagreement.
"At least a hundred times more, my voluptuous hunny."
The duo sat in silence for a while, just gazing idly at the fireplace in the corner, where a lively fire flickered.
"Zelos?" Sheena broke the silence after a few minutes, and he looked up into her hazel eyes.
"Yeah, Sheena?"
"I have to tell you something…"
Zelos cocked his head curiously. "Sure, anything."
"The reason I came to you to begin with is because I am in exile." Her voice was nearly silent, but he heard it clearly.
The Chosen's cerulean eyes widened in shock. "What'd you do?!"
"I named Orochi the successor instead of myself. He is more suited for the job, and besides... A good friend of mine once told me to follow my heart."
All of a sudden, in a small place in the back of his mind, he was in an open field once more, sitting a few feet away from Lloyd, Colette, and the rest of the party. Sheena was to his right, and he and the ninja were in conversation. She was telling him about her worries, how she wasn't sure what to do, how she was guilty and she knew it but it felt so wrong just to sacrifice herself. He told her, 'follow your heart, it won't guide you wrong.' So she did.
Zelos shook his head in disbelief.
"So you gave it all up? For what? What could be in your heart that's more important than Mizuho?"
"You are, Zelos." She looked into his eyes, her gaze unwavering. "I cared about you, and because I gave up my responsibility, I am in exile. So I came to you, hoping you would give me somewhere to belong."
"Sheena..." He was at loss for words. "I don't even know what to say..."
"You don't have to say anything at all. Actions speak better than words anyways."
"In that case..." The Chosen started, punctuating his words by lifting a hand to cup her face and kissing her gently on the lips. Drawing back, he smirked slightly. The ninja brought a hand up to her lips, as if wondering if that was real, and her eyes were widened. After a moment, a smile started to form. And not one of those controlled Mizuhoan smiles either. A true, honest to goddess smile.
Then she that smile faded to a mischievous smirk. "Care to try that again?"
And their lips met again, the redhead coming on stronger than before, but Sheena soon roused up enough passion from behind her emotion-shielding mask to meet him.
The rest of the night went on in a similar manner, with teasing, flirting, and kissing being the main entertainment. At last, sometime around midnight, Sheena let out a poorly-concealed yawn. Zelos promptly lifted her up and, twirling around once, he set the protesting ninja down on her bed.
"I'll let you get some sleep now, my voluptuous hunny. It won't do either of us any good if I pester you all night. Goodnight, Sheena."
Stealing a playful goodnight kiss, he turned to the door.
"Zelos?"
The Chosen stopped in his tracks. "Yeah?"
"If you want to, you could… I dunno... Stay here tonight? It's kind of lonely, all by myself..." She fidgeted embarrassedly with the corner of her bed sheets. His face lit up.
"Of course I will, all you had to do was ask!"
When Sheena changed into her nightclothes, Zelos didn't peek even once, and when she climbed into her comfortable bed, she felt the warmth of the Chosen crawling in behind her. He draped an arm around her waist, drawing her close.
"I love you, Sheena," he murmured sleepily, and the ninja smiled, nestling closer.
"I love you too, Zelos."
But he was already asleep. For the first night in her life, Sheena Fujibayashi fell asleep with another's warmth beside her. And she knew, in her last conscious thoughts, that she would never be lonely again.
(Gad, I have the feeling that I failed at this miserably. I was looking for fluff and got... crap. If you guys want, I can rewrite this. Vote in your review. Rewrite or no? If not, I have my Kraine fic up, and I'm gonna finish that before I take on any more Sheelos. Thankies to all of you again.)
May your Sheelos passion burn for years to come,
Marissa