Chapter Ten

Ello friends and friendly readers. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I'm just trotting along here, throwing in what looks good in my head. Sometimes describing things is difficult, but at the same time…over-describing stuff is annoying and can be even more confusing. My friend Byakugan Hyuga told me a while ago that my style is changing slightly, then she proceeded to tell me that it's because I don't have to worry about describing people or settings or anything like that anymore…cuz you guys all know that stuff! So you can just enjoy the story without your brains hurting, hehe.

Can't say the same for my brain though. (Meaning this story is all I think about, XP)

Enjoy

Asch's P.o.v.

He watched blankly from across the room as the green bar on the screen pulsated every few seconds, sending a spike upward.

Then it would repeat, and that's all he'd been watching for the past couple of hours.

Her heartbeat.

He glanced then, reluctantly taking his eyes off the machine and looked over at Sin, who was laying on the nearby bed.

There were tubes hooked up to her arms and legs, accompanied by the appropriate amount of wires to monitor her. And to add to the over all effect, she was heavily bandaged.

He hated the way it looked. It was sickening on her, though it was necessary.

He clenched his teeth and turned his green eyes back to the green, spiking bar.

'This is my fault…'

He didn't protect her, and what was worse, was the fact that on the Albiore he had stated that he would never leave her without protection.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.

But it had all happened so fast, there was no time to react.

They had been certain the behemoth was dead. It was only her surprised cry a few moments after that they realized that it was far from finished.

He remembered calling to her, telling her to get out of there…and she did. She dove right into the water to shield herself.

They hacked at the beast's backside, plunging their weapons into its flanks but it paid them no mind and crashed into the water after her, as if it somehow knew she was defenseless and ill.

Before he could even comprehend what had happened, or what was going to happen the beast was thrown from overtop of her and back into the water – motionless. They all froze, confused.

She was motionless too, and the blood was everywhere.

He wasn't sure what he had done after that point…through the panic and terror and rage it was too complicated to rationalize, even when he thought about it now.

One thing he did remember was giving her mouth to mouth, to somehow breathe his will to live into her. He didn't care if they were all watching. He cared about clearing her airways.

She didn't wake up exactly, but she stirred a few moments after. That's when he picked her up and demanded that they head straight to Belkend. There were absolutely no objections.

Now here they were.

Annoyingly, he hadn't been let in right away because he wasn't family. Jade, to his irritation, was let in though, because of his in depth knowledge of replicas.

"Her heart is stable now," the necromancer stated seriously, his eyes also on the machine. Asch took enough time out of his thoughts to turn to him.

Jade blinked once at the machine, seeming lost in his own world. "I find her readings to be quite interesting."

Asch felt his eyes narrow slightly. It wasn't good if the necromancer could figure them out just by simple numbers alone.

The red-eyed man continued. "Replicas have perfect isofons, as you know. This replica, while she does also have exact isofons, has a heart rate that is nearly double the normal rate."

Asch crossed his arms. "…So her heart beats fast. So what?"

"It's almost as if her heart has to work twice as hard to sustain her own fonons. Of course, this mysterious illness most likely plays a large role."

Jade turned to him seriously. "Unfortunately at his rate, I don't see this miracle lasting much longer. Perhaps a few months…"

Asch clenched his teeth together in anger, wanting nothing more than to silence the necromancer's words that had been floating around in his head forever.

"Miracle..?" he asked bluntly, turning his head to the girl in the bed again.

Jade pushed up his glasses. "Her heart rate is like bird, very fast. I find it intriguing seeing her alive at this age, with this replicated illness, this heart, and those other small deficiencies."

Asch narrowed his eyes further, the curiosity creeping up on him unwillingly.

"…Then how?"

"Theories are all I have," Jade replied while walking over to the machine that was sustaining her. Asch remained silent, weary of what he could discover.

"Perhaps there is somewhere where the air is pure. No smoke, no pollution…" he trailed off and turned his red eyes onto the former God-General, who looked back, his own face guarded.

"No fontech." Jade finished. "Wherever did you stumble upon a twofold replica, Asch the Bloody?"

The red eyes of the necromancer bore in to him, but he didn't react in the slightest. He never fully trusted this man.

"Or perhaps…you could explain where you've been for the past four years?"

"I have no intention of doing that."

Jade nodded, as if he had foreseen this answer. "Then I'll draw my own conclusions to the theories. You have been traveling somewhere where this replica could sustain her life for a year at least, the year she has known you for. And according to the drastic drop in her immune system, that place is not here."

"What do you know, Necromancer?" Asch snapped, pushing off the wall. "She is ill. That's your answer right there."

"That is also correct…" Jade agreed before leaning forward and pointing at a running set of flashing numbers. "But these clearly state that there is a new factor affecting her immune system that is not the illness we are working to cure. It is the air we breathe, the smoke, the chemicals…the poison of humanity that her body has never experienced before and is overcompensating to shield itself from."

"She will live." Asch seethed in response.

There was a quiet groan then, coming from the bed behind Jade. Asch lifted his chin a little and set the Necromancer with a hard glare, as if to say 'I told you so.'

"Cant move…" Sin stated quietly, obviously unaware that he and Jade were present. The necromancer nodded then and took his leave, the sliding door shutting securely behind him.

She tried to lift her arm, but the wires and the tubes made her movement strained.

Asch went to her side, not hesitating to reach for her hand with his. The replica flinched in response, her head turning on the pillow to face him, even though the bandages over her eyes kept her from seeing anything around her.

Perhaps that was for the best.

"Is that you…?" she asked.

He nodded. "It is. You're safe."

"I don't remember what happened."

He pressed his lips together reluctantly. "The behemoth attacked you then pursued you into the water… then you tried to use an arte without knowing how, and caused an explosion that injured you."

Her pale hand tightened in his. She shook her head a little and then pulled her hand away, moving to try and undo the bandages that were around her eyes.

"Here," he murmured as he watched her fiddle with it. "I'll do it…"

The replica sat still as he unwrapped the material, his heart becoming forlorn at the thought of what he might find. He could only hope that she wasn't still blind, even when the bandages were removed.

Finally, he pulled the last fold away and gazed at her face.

Her orange eyes were down to her lap and seemed unfocused. For that he couldn't blame her. She had been sleeping in this bed for a while, in the dark.

Asch leaned closer, unsure how to react at the sight of the huge slash running from her forehead, right over her left eye and down to the middle of her cheek. It was healing…but not without the scar.

"How does it look?" she asked blankly, as if she could already tell what was there without him explaining. She didn't look at him.

"Just fine. Can you see?"

The replica nodded a little, lifting her head and blinking her eyes. Soon they regained a bit of their sharpness.

Surprised, he listened to her breathing hitch and her eyes widened as she looked down at the wires and tubes lying around and across her.

"What is it?" he wondered quickly.

Her breathing was deep, frightened. "W-where are we?"

"Belkend," he replied, his eyebrows furrowing. "You're in the—"

But before he could finish her hand shot out to grab a fistful of the wires and tubes connected to her, then she pulled and tore, disconnecting them wherever she could. The machines began beeping in alarm.

"Stop!" he demanded, grabbing her arm securely. "They won't hurt you!"

But the frightened replica wasn't listening and continued to tear them from her body like they were sucking her life force, like it didn't matter that he wasn't even there with her.

"Get them out! T-They aren't right!" she shouted, tears angrily pouring from the edges of her eyes. She didn't even hesitate to pull the needles from her arms, but couldn't hold back the panic when she realized that they were meant to inject her.

"It's okay!" Asch tried to convince her desperately. She didn't listen though, and her sobbing from fear was prominent. She couldn't handle the machines, the monsters or the very air they were meant to breathe in this world. He never foresaw this.

Against what she wanted at that point, he pulled her into a tight embrace, effectively stopping the struggling and pulling of the wires. He could feel her shaking as he placed his hand on the back of her head.

"It's okay," he repeated. "I won't hurt you."

Sin slumped with a choked sob, but her arms wrapped around him too.

"It's t-too different…!" she spoke into him, her teeth clenched. "I don't even know where to start…"

"That's fine," he replied over her shoulder. "Don't push yourself. You don't need to get used to it."

"I…I'm so sorry. I'm being a burden."

Asch patted her head lightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Love."

He felt her crack a sad smile against his chest, followed by a sigh. He pulled her closer.

"Asch!" Luke suddenly called, making his eyes open slightly. "Whatever you're doing—like that! Stop that! They're coming in!" his counterpart exclaimed frantically.

"Hn…"

"They're just about to open the door! You're going to get caught you idiot!"

"Fine by me."

"Ah! What about her? She sure as hell doesn't like being embarrassed! Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Asch smirked a little. "Well what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Don't even—" Luke started, but regardless, Asch slammed the mind link closed.

Just as Luke had stated, the door slid open. Guy and Jade paused in their tracks seeing them, and Luke had silently slapped his hand to his forehead behind them. Sin froze, her body completely tensing at the prospect of being seen.

Asch slipped his green eyes over his shoulder, pretending as if he hadn't been warned at all.

"Well, well…" Jade smiled mischievously. "It appears as if Asch is playing the doctor this time."

"What!" Sin exclaimed. "No…he was just…we were…!"

She cut her own words off and clasped her hands in front of her, choosing to stare at the floor while her cheeks flushed scarlet.

"Sure looked like a hug to me," Guy laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"N-No…" she mumbled, embarrassed. Asch crossed his arms in front of him, though he didn't turn his gaze to her when he spoke.

"You sure know how to dig yourself in deeper."

"T-That's not true…" Sin tried to disagree quietly, obviously very aware that everyone was still looking at them.

"Still doing it."

"Ah…well…oh…" she stuttered under her breath. Finally, she went silent, seeming to realize what he meant. He laughed mentally.

"I see you've managed to disconnect your monitors," Jade stated while closing his eyes briefly after eyeing all the tiny bleeding wounds from the needles all over her. "Though I think a little more time for healing is what you need most at the moment."

"No!" she suddenly burst out, making even Asch glance at her. "I mean…I'm fine…"

"That's a pretty bad wound…" Guy admitted. "I'm surprised you can still see out of that eye."

Asch heard her take a breath in, reluctantly raising a hand to the left portion of her face. She had forgotten all about it.

"It'll heal…" she muttered, though he could hear the displeasure in her voice.

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day," Luke stated as he walked further into the room. "Why don't we go back to Baticul and take a break? Tear can heal the rest of her wounds."

"That's a good idea," Guy agreed readily. "We only have one ingredient left right? Shouldn't take too long."

"I am in favor of that suggestion too," Jade said pleasantly. "I'm not quite as young as I once was."

Asch nodded and could feel the relief of the tiny replica beside him. It probably would have taken every one of them to hold her down should they have chosen to stay.

And he didn't like watching her heart rate slip up and down on some machine…as if it was predetermined.

"He is quite different, I must admit." Natalia responded to Guy, who was standing beside her, also looking out at Asch and Sin who were sitting side-by-side on the beach. They were both wearing bathing suits, though Sin had a large, pale blue shirt on to cover herself.

The party had come back, with a very injured Sin in tow. Though the tiny girl had stumbled off the Albiore willingly enough. Tear healed her right away, but Natalia knew that the scars from the deep injuries would be there forever, the most noticeable one across her eye. It wasn't a minute after that before Luke suggested the beach, and oddly, Asch agreed.

"Aren't you at least a little curious?" Guy asked, his hand touching the back of his head sheepishly as he turned to look at her.

"About what?" she blinked at him curiously. They began to walk out onto the hot, dry sand, the sun shining in their faces.

"Well about…you know, where he's been?"

"It is puzzling, I agree," Natalia smiled. "Perhaps he had some unfinished business to attend to?"

Guy squinted his eyes thoughtfully up at the sky. "For four years? Isn't that…well a little suspicious?"

"Four years is quite a decent amount of time…" the princess trailed off. "But he managed to find company. For that I am glad."

"You are?" Guy asked, taken aback. Natalia glanced at him with a small tilt of her head.

"Yes, why would I not be?"

"Oh, no reason," Guy laughed nervously as he looked forward at the two sitting on the beach ahead of him. The image of them hugging floated through his head for a moment.

He let out a quiet sigh through his nose and for a moment his feelings were a mixture of happiness, sadness and disappointment.

"Is something the matter, Guy?" Natalia questioned, her storming green eyes turning to him. He shook his head readily and managed a smile.

"No, it's nothing. Come on, let's test the water."

Sin's P.o.v.

She had her arms wrapped around her knees carefully as she watched Luke, Tear and Anise splash around in the water. Mostly it was Luke and Anise who did the splashing as Tear was very poised, seeming like she was trying to get used to the water.

This happened very fast a moment later however, when Luke and Anise pulled her down.

Sin cracked a smile, letting a breath out.

"What do you think of Grand Chokmah?" Asch asked casually, his eyes running along the horizon.

She felt her face already begin to go red when she turned to look at him, shirtless.

"It's easiest…" she mumbled.

He nodded. "It's a lot like home."

"Except with no Dailiin and Syft."

"You miss them, admit it," he chuckled under his breath.

Sin grinned at him. "Maybe a little bit…just a little…" she allowed.

"I'm sure they are wondering where we are by now."

"Probably…" she trailed off, distracted by the warmth of the sand as it slide between her toes. "Though I doubt Syft is worrying too much about it…"

They fell peacefully silent as they watched the gang splash around in the water. Natalia and Guy soon joined them, ganging up on Luke and Anise.

"I wish we could…take them with us…" Sin found herself murmuring. Asch shook his head slightly, his red hair reflecting a dizzying amount of light.

"Impossible…and besides, their place is here."

"I know…it's just…I'm going to miss them."

"I know."

Sin narrowed her eyes gently, looking ahead of her. Grand Chokmah wasn't so bad at all. It was almost exactly alike Blue Abarath in almost every way, from the water, to the beach, to the lessoned amount of fontech. It felt like home. Here she could breathe.

"Why don't we…stay…" the replica murmured nervously. She avoided looking at him. She didn't know what she would find on his face.

She wanted to be absolutely sure that he was happy with his life that wasn't here. What if he missed Auldrant and the fontech? What if he missed his friends? It seemed impossible that he wouldn't, when she had only known them for a few days and she was already missing them.

His response to this was to gently ruffle her hair. She blinked and turned to him, but he just shook his head, his eyes still on the water in front.

"My, my… aren't you two looking dry?" Jade's voice suddenly cut in. She turned to look over her shoulder but as she did so there was the distinctive sound of rushing water and abruptly, they were both soaked.

"There now, you all match." Jade smiled lightly.

"All but you," Asch smirked in response. "Help me out here, Sin."

"Yup."

Without much difficulty, Jade was the next one who was soaked head to toe. Of course, this hadn't happened until Luke, Anise, Natalia and Guy had helped them get him into the water. Apparently for his age, he was exceptionally strong.

"And thus we come full circle," the Necromancer shrugged, wiping his glasses and then placing them back on the bridge of his nose with a calm smile.

Asch crossed his arms, a smile playing about the edge of his mouth as well. Sin found herself grinning, clasping her hands behind her back.

The water had calmed now, to a glassy, smooth surface. It was because of this however, that she got her first good look at the scar on her face. Taking her eyes away from it was too difficult, and she failed miserably, though that's all she wanted to do.

So she stared, disheartened as the water splashed up against her legs.

'It looks awful…'

A moment later, Asch's hand came to rest on her shoulder. Surprising herself, she turned her face away so that he couldn't see, though she knew perfectly well that he already had before.

"Walk with me," he stated quickly. He strode away along the beach before she could even reply.

A tiny sigh escaped her as she started her walk to catch up. She followed his footsteps in the sand with her eyes for a few paces, feeling a new reluctance to look up.

However when she got close enough, she found that he was offering his hand to her. Shyly, she took it.

They walked on silently and she began to wonder what exactly the reason was that he wanted to walk in the first place. Through her bangs, she could see people staring curiously and she knew, definitely, that it was him who was hard to not notice. Or rather, impossible to not notice.

As she drifted off in uncomfortable thought, suddenly a minor splash made her blink and look up, her eyes landing on two girls with charming smiles on their faces. Her hand tightened around his a little.

"Oh sorry about that," the closer one said sweetly, and Sin couldn't help but notice how her eyes lingered only Asch. She wearily turned her own eyes away, remembering the scar on her face.

"Yeah, clumsy us. We we're just so excited!" the second chirped, smiling brightly. "You can splash us back if it makes you feel better."

"Hn…" Asch replied. "I personally don't feel the need to. How about you, Sin?"

She refrained from looking up while she pulled herself slightly closer to him. "Uhm…no…it's okay…" she murmured.

"I don't think they can hear you."

This bothered her, because now the girls were standing there –discouraged- as they waited for the reply from the person they hadn't meant to connect with and the one person who didn't even want to look up in her current state.

But slowly, she lifted her chin to look them in the eye. She didn't miss how their eyes widened when their gazes connected with hers.

"It's okay," she stated quietly. "Everyone gets a little wet..."

They simply nodded, the smiles slowly coming back to their faces as Asch spoke again.

"I guess you're off the hook this time," he said as they began walking again, his hand urging her to fall in step beside him. The girls shuffled out of the way, clearly disheartened at the small amount of contact.

And then they kept walking, to where… she wasn't sure.

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly.

"Nowhere in particular."

"Then let's go back."

"No. We can keep going."

Sin furrowed her eyebrows a little, confused. "Why…?"

"Why not?"

She shook her head, having no answer other than she didn't like people staring at her face.

Finally though, the walk came to a halt as they encountered the portion of the beach where the sand ended and large rocks began. Waves hit them continuously, sending a fine mist at her and Asch, who was taking a seat on one of the flat ones. He gestured for her to sit beside him, so questioningly, she did. The sea birds squawked overhead.

There was a minute of silence as she waited, though waiting turned into peace in that short span of time, when people weren't staring.

"Some people," he began absentmindedly, looking out at the waves. "You have to look them in the eye."

"That's easy to say…" she responded unsurely.

"You never would have had a problem doing it before," he said, his eyes still attached to the water.

Sin pulled her knees in defensively and turned her head away from him. "Well its different now..." she muttered. "I look different."

"No," Asch corrected. "It's not different. That scar doesn't change a thing."

"It changes how I feel."

The former God-General pushed himself off the rock then, his hair flowing behind him. His expression had hardened considerably.

"Well then…I suppose that's all I need to know."

The replicas eyebrows furrowed in confusion, though she really didn't like talking about this much.

"Huh?" was her reluctant response. He turned his green eyes over his shoulder.

"If scars mean that much to you…" he started slowly, seriously. "Then consider how much I mean to you."

She blinked, startled, and then her eyes ran along his body.

Scars everywhere, and of all sizes lined his chest, his back and portions of his arms. The scars she had just become so accustomed to seeing that she forgot they were there. They were as much a part of her as they were a part of him.

They were him, and she knew she would never change a thing.

'Damn…'

She hated that scar on her face though, visible proof that she was a weakling and a reminder to him that she was a burden.

"It's different…" she said lowly, turning her eyes away from him again. "I can't even look at my own reflection."

His voice came closer. "I don't want to look at you either," he stated. Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch in horrified amazement.

But then his warm hand was at the side of her face, turning her to look at him.

His emerald green eyes drove straight into hers, the scar in plain sight.

"Because I can't stand…that drowned look on your face."

Asch's P.o.v.

"Hah!" Sin burst out laughing in Asch's room, flopping backward on the bed with her hands over her eyes. "It looks so ridiculous! It's killing me!"

"What's so funny?" Florian wondered, tilting his head a little at the object of Sin's amusement. "This clothing is the usual attire for the best man at weddings."

She wasn't listening though, trying to suppress the rest of her laughter.

Asch stood in front of the mirror in his new clothing, his expression a mixture of displeasure and confusion. Who the hell picked this stuff out? Cheagles?

Still, it wasn't that bad.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Florian admitted, turning his sea-green gaze away from the laughing replica and onto Asch. "Does her illness make her prone to laughing spasms?"

Asch smirked a little. "No, she's just not familiar with the traditions."

He turned back to the mirror reluctantly. It was safe to say that after four years in an alternate world a good couple years behind schedule, his knowledge on tradition and clothing was a little blurry too. What he wore now gave him a strange feeling that he wouldn't get used to these types of things again.

Florian departed a few minutes later, his calm smile still in place. It was a strange switch from Syft's trademark scowl.

The moment the door shut behind the boy, Asch threw the only thing he wouldn't be wearing at Sin – the hat.

"I'm sorry," she chuckled, sitting up. The hat was in her lap. "But you said I didn't have to get used to it here."

He shook his head, starting to pull the clothing off. "I didn't say make a fool of yourself," he responded with a smirk.

The replica grinned, placing the odd looking hat on top of her black hair. "I bet you cant say that with a straight face while I'm wearing this."

He tried in all honesty, he did, to turn his expression serious and prove her otherwise, but when she noticed this and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth to throw him off, he laughed.

And then the laughing spasm spread to both if them.

Hello. Short chapter, I am aware. Sorry! This was the hardest one yet. I had to do a lot of improvising really. You can all thank Halfdemon-kai for helping me out though, and presenting me with her lovely advice –smiles- so there you have it.

Thanks to my reviewers too, but some of you were missing! I was watching those hits, I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! Lmao. Anyway, YOU and Suzakus Wings…update!