Crossed Paths -- Part Four

Crossed Paths
a Soul Calibur fanfic by Somenosuke.

Disclaimer: All characters here are the respectful properties of Namco (well, except Lola, but she isn't important ^_^). Man, if I owned them, do you think I'd be writing fanfics!?

A/N: Thoughts are in italics. But so are stressed words. I think you can figure which is which when reading the story..

Part Four

There was never a time that Kilik ate such a good meal as Lola's. He still had the taste of the hearty bread and pasta in his mouth. And on top of that, Siegfried had arranged for Kilik to have his own room, complete with a comfortable Western-style bed. The German had recommended Kilik take a nice, long snooze, but he was far too awake for that. And it was too humid.

Plus, he wanted to converse with Mi Na.

Climbing out of bed, he creeped out of the room and headed next door to Mi Na's. Before he announced his arrival by knocking on the door, he planned out his introduction in his mind: "Hey Mina," he'd say, "I wanted to ask you a bunch of questions. Please answer me."

Nah, too wimpy, he thought.

"Hey! Mi Na! Let's talk!"

Too forward and impolite for a lady...

"Hey Mi Na, can we talk for a few?"

That could work...

With newfound confidence, Kilik stepped forward towards the door. His knuckles rapped softly against the frame.

No response.

He shrugged and tried again.

Still no response.

That's strange, he thought. He knocked again and waited a few moments, this time.

"What are you doing?" Mi Na's dulcet voice asked from somewhere behind him, nearly making him leap out of his flesh. Kilik turned to see her, standing not too far from him with pieces of cake left over from dinner. And he tried not to laugh at her chosen attire: a lengthy white night gown with sleeves, tacky flower decor, and ruffles.

"What are you wearing?" he snickered his inquiry.

"It's something Lola let me borrow." Mi Na sank her teeth down on some more cake. "Why are you here?"

"I came to get you," Kilik replied, he naivete trailing not too far behind his seemingly casual voice.

"For...?"

"To talk."

Mi Na's slender eyebrows furrowed. "Okay...but can we talk outside? It's kinda stuffy indoors."

"Sure."


Outside, the streets of Venice were rather peaceful and deserted, save for late-hour vendors closing up shop, or young and old alike strolling outdoors to escape the heat that lingered indiscriminately inside their homes. The evening darkness wasn't as disabling as it had been in other parts of the world. Several street lanterns remained lit all through the night; and the moon and stars shining onto the canals' surfaces from up above gave anyone more than enough illumination. A cool summer breeze blew every now and then, setting a relaxed mood for the young travellers.

"Wow. I'd love to stay out here," Mi Na said breathlessly as she sat on the cool, granite steps of the lodge.

"It is nice," Kilik stated while glancing up at the accumulation of stars.

"So," Mi Na began, glancing to him and already getting down to business, "what did you wish to talk about...?"

"Uh.. Well, I just wanted to talk to you, I guess." Kilik shrugged and lifted his foot onto one of the steps. "I mean, I want to know more about you. If you don't want to let me know, then that's okay."

Mi Na shook her head. "It's okay. I haven't shared a conversation with anyone in months."

"Why is that?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, just try me," Kilik challenged, grinning.

"Fine, but you'll have to promise me two things." Mi Na held up two fingers for emphasis.

"Sure. Go 'head."

"One," Mi Na said, "you won't tell anyone what I tell you. And two, you have to tell me about yourself in return. Is that a deal?" she extended her hand towards him.

"Deal." Smiling, Kilik took Mi Na's smaller hand into his own and shook it gently.

Glancing back up at the blanket of shining heavenly bodies above them, Mi Na began her tale, and Kilik intently listened. "First off, the reason I'm in Europe is because I am searching for something. The Sword of Salvation... It's my second time searching for it. For my people of Korea..."

Kilik nodded, recalling something of that Salvation Sword nature from the Edge Master. Soul Calibur [1], is what he called it. He motioned for her to continue.

"My father---he's a strict man. I'm his only daughter and though I am only nineteen, he treats me like a child and denies me fair treatment and participation in the Coastal Defense Force because I'm female!

"So, when I was sixteen, I ran away from home in search of the rumored Sword that can save Korea, in our time of war. I figured if I could find it on my own, father, and his students, would be forced to recognize my strength. But three years ago, Hwang found me in Germany and brought me back home."

"Who is Hwang?" The desire to ask that itched Kilik like a mosquito bite.

"He's," Mi Na lowered her gaze away from the stars. "He's my father's proclaimed best student."

"Oh, I see," Kilik nodded, satisfied with that vague answer. He assumed Mi Na and this Hwang might've had a history together, and that it was none of his business to invade her privacy more than he already had. "You wanted to prove everyone wrong; am I right?"

"Yeah," Mi Na nodded, "but if Siegfried hadn't turn me over to Hwang, I probably would have found it. Instead, when I got home, this idiot son of the Kim family proposed to me after Father gave me strict and rigorous training as punishment."

Kilik blinked his widened, innocent hazel eyes. "Were you two lovers?"

"No way!"

Kilik knew next to nothing about the subject of love, aside from stories he had heard during his travels. Most of what he'd learned was from Maxi, and he wasn't exactly the best of teachers. There were times that the pirate made sense, though, when he'd state philosophies, such as only lovers get married and that arranged or spontaneous marriages were a thing of the past. It made Kilik even more confused to even think why anyone would want to spend the rest of their life with someone they barely knew. "So why would he propose to you, then?"

"Because my father believes that an heir to his martial arts school is needed. To him, I'm like an advertisement for anyone wanting to get married and carry on his school. He even tried setting me up with Hwang!" Mi Na made a face at the mere thought.

"So what happened?" Kilik asked.

"Simple. I ran away from home again. Only this time, no one's taking me back home."

Kilik's lips formed into a smile. "So that's why you freaked when you saw me for the first time back at Rhodes, huh?" [2]

"Yeah," Mi Na giggled, picking lint off her nightgown, "I thought Father sent you to get me."

"Drat." Kilik snapped his finger.

"What?"

"I thought you were captivated by my looks."

"Yeah," Mi Na laughed, rolling her eyes, "they were so frightening and good, I just had to run away."

Kilik laughed along with her until a realization washed over him like a squall. Here he was, a boy so coy and so ignorant in so many ways of the world, flirting with this girl, who was nothing like the females he had ever met. It made him flush to just think about it.

"So," he coughed uncomfortably into his fist, "is that the end of your tale?"

"And you're not going to tell me about how you, a Korean girl, know techniques mastered in the Ling Sheng Su Temple?" Kilik teased.

"It's kind of embarrassing."

"Nothing can be too embarrassing."

The fingers of Mi Na's hands interlocked and were relaxed against her right knee. "Let's just say that I lost to someone and a witness of the fight, a man named Kong, taught me the basics after I bugged him to death about it..."

Kong. Kilik had overhead the elders of the temple speak of the name. He never had a face or identity to match it, though.

Deciding Mi Na had revealed enough about herself, Kilik stood upright from his rather slouched position. He violently shook his leg out, and it appeared to Mi Na that he was having some sort of seizure. "Are you okay?" she asked him, alarmed.

"Just fine--these Western paja-what-is-it-yami's are very uncomfortable, though..."

"Pajamas," Mi Na corrected him.

"Yeah. That." After fixing himself, Kilik looked to a snickering Mi Na. She was dressed like the domesticated wives she loathed yet, she was laughing heartily in front of him. At least she's comfortable around me. Makes it easier.

"Ready to hear my story?"

"Always ready."

"You sure? It's kinda long..."

"Psshaw," Mi Na dismissed Kilik's latter statement with a wave of both hands, "I can pull an all nighter! Hearing your story won't make a difference."

"You've been warned." And so, Kilik grinned and proceeded to tell her his story.




The tale of how he grew up in the Ling Sheng Su Temple, was awarded the Kali-Yuga and given the Dvapara-Yuga by his passed sworn sister Xianglian was longer than Kilik had imagined. He didn't even know how long he was taking to tell only part of his tale---he was too caught up in it, perhaps. But somewhere in between the story of his departure from the temple to train with the Edge Master, Mi Na had drifted off to sleep, contrary to her earlier words.

With lengthy russet colored strands of hair brushing against her cheek, and the easy rise and fall of her soft breathing, Kilik deemed it blasphemy to even think of waking her. She looked too peaceful.

Told you so, Mi Na, Kilik mused to himself. He bent his figure over and draped one arm across her slender back and the other across the back of her knees. Slow and with gentle movements, he hoisted her light-weight body, cradling her. He didn't move for a while. Instead, he wallowed, simply staring intently at the sleeping beauty in his arms. Several wisps of her hair had fallen into her face and he brushed them aside with his fingers. With the hairs out of the way, he noticed the sparkling Emerald earrings she had bought when they first met.

You're too much for words." He smiled to himself and carried her back into the lodge.

* * *

[1] -- I know, I know, I know. The Sword of Salvation is Soul Edge, according to the people of Korea, in Soul Calibur/Edge/Blade. But Kilik, as far as I know, doesn't know that, and so, he assumed Mi Na spoke of Soul Calibur, which is technically the Sword of Salvation whereas Soul Edge is an evil hack-knife! =B

[2] -- Read Emerald Earrings. *cheesy shameless plug*

A/N: Whoo, that was lengthy. So what do you think of this chapter? Better than the last one, I hope. I know, the story is just dragging along..but it'll end within two or so chapters.