A Love Once Lost, Lost Forever

By Saeko

A fanfic between me and my… my… my… my… JOWY!!!!!! *runs to a cliff* I LOVE YOU JOWY!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden II, therefore I do not own my love. Waaaaaaahhh…

I AM NOT LOVELESS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dedicated to my one and only… I love you… but then again, if you're expecting a beautiful love story, you won't like the end. Try tragic.

This is my first ever Suikoden II fic, and my first-ever Jowy X OC fic, so please be gentle.

Note: This is set two years after the good ending, which means that Jowy is now eighteen and is traveling with Riyu and Nanami.



~flashback~

1 Atreides Manor, Kyaro town

"I cannot accept this, Rosa. She has to go."

"But why? Why can't she stay?"

"I do not want a troublemaker in my house!"

"She's just a child, dear."

"When she grows up she'll cause trouble by competing with Jowy for being the heir to this estate! I want a man, Rosa, not a measly woman for my heir."

"How could you?! I am a woman too, you know! And she is your flesh and blood… please… don't throw her away…"

"I have made my descision."

~end of flashback~



Grasslands, eighteen years later…



Jowy Atreides-Blight made his way through the tall bushes of the Grasslands. He had been separated from his friends, Riyu and Nanami, who were journeying along with him, far away from the war. And now, as he walked on the crunching ground covered with fallen grass, his mind was set on looking for them until he can.

Jowy sighed and looked up. The sun was already setting in the east, filling the purple sky with a bright orange glow. He sighed and kept going. If he couldn't find Riyu and Nanami today, he'd just find a place to spend the night, and continue his journey the next day. After pushing through another clump of bushes, he spotted a river flowing in front of him. He ran toward it and tripped on the strap of his bag. Desperate for water, he crawled the rest of the way and immediately cupped his hands to hold the sweet water, which for him was life.

"Thirsty, aren't you?"

Jowy looked up, surprised. In front of him was a girl carrying a jar. She looked about his age, with long silver-blue hair tied back in a ponytail and the bluest eyes Jowy had ever seen aside from his own. Jowy shook his head and stared. The girl looked awfully like him.

"What are you looking at?" the girl asked. Jowy blinked, and shook his head again.

"Poor you, can't talk," she said. She bent down and dipped the jar in the water, filling it to the brim. "Are you going anywhere?"

Jowy nodded.

"I see." The girl stood up and looked at the sky, which was blackening by the minute. "It's getting dark now. If you need a place to stay, you'd better follow me. It isn't safe here."

The girl looked at Jowy. "Are you coming?" she asked.

Jowy, in answer, crossed the river with all the strength he could muster. The girl smiled. "That's better," she said. She took Jowy's heavy bag. "C'mon. My house is this way."

Jowy walked with the girl in silence towards the mountains. The girl didn't seem to get tired though she was carrying Jowy's heavy bag and the jar filled with water. Jowy ran up to her side.

"Let me take this," Jowy said, taking the jar of water resting on the girl's shoulder and putting it on his. "It's too heavy for you."

"So you can talk after all," the girl said, looking at him. "Thanks anyhow." She took a few steps forward and pointed toward the woods. "That's my house," she said.

Jowy looked amazingly at the unspoiled wooden house at the edge of the woods. It stood between two trees, which the house was tied to. Wind chimes tinkled on the windows, and a small garden grew around the house.

"You live here?" Jowy asked.

"Yes," the girl replied. "All my life." She walked toward it, motioning for Jowy to follow her. Jowy stood still, staring at the house. The girl turned around and eyed him. "You coming or not?"

Jowy blinked and looked at the girl. "Oh, yeah," he said, running up to her.

"I'm Tara," the girl said.

"Jowy B-" Jowy said, but stopped himself. "Jowy."

"Nice to meet you, Jowy," Tara said, smiling again.

"You too."

"We'd better get inside before it gets dark."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Jowy was sitting on a chair in Tara's kitchen, drinking water and watching Tara cook dinner. He settled back and sighed. Where were Riyu and Nanami? Where are they staying? Are they all right?

"You seem to have a lot on your mind right now."

Jowy started and looked at Tara. She still had her back to him, cutting vegetables on a wooden board, but Jowy could see that she was smiling.

"I do, actually," he said.

"Think you can tell me?" Tara asked.

"I've been thinking about my friends," Jowy said.

"Are they supposed to be with you?"

"Yeah."

"Then how come you're alone?"

"I lost them in the grasslands somewhere. I'm kinda worried about them. I don't know where they're staying, or even if they're alive," Jowy said.

Tara looked at him. "You know, if somebody dies in the grasslands, it's because they've run out of food and water. There are no animals in there that can kill you."

"Then what if they run out of food?"

"That's a different story."

"I guess so."

Tara finished cutting the vegetables and went over to the stove. "So who are they?"

Jowy looked at her. "Who?"

"Your friends."

"Oh," Jowy said. "Well, there's Riyu. He's my best friend. And his adopted sister, Nanami. They were taken in by Genkaku when they were still kids," he added as Tara dropped the vegetables into the bubbling liquid in the pot.

"You mean the leader of the Suikoden Army, Riyu, the son of Genkaku of Kyaro," Tara stated.

"How do you know that?" Jowy asked.

Tara laughed. "Even news like that reaches here, you know."

"Oh," Jowy said stupidly. Tara took a wooden spoon and stirred the thick soup. "So is that it?"

"Yeah…"

"Good. Dinner's just finished." Tara poured the steaming soup into two bowls and carried them to the table. "This is my special Grasslands soup. Try it."

Jowy nodded and took a spoonful as Tara brought over two plates of rice and vegetables. "It's good," Jowy said as Tara sat down. Tara smiled. "Thanks. Here's some rice and vegetables. You can't eat just soup for dinner."

"Thanks," Jowy said. "You're pretty nice. How come nobody lives with you?"

"I don't know…"

"I see…"

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, lost in thought. Then Tara picked up her spoon. "You'd better eat now," she said. "That soup is getting cold."



That night, Jowy tossed and turned in the bed Tara had provided for him. Jowy had protested that he didn't mind sleeping on the floor, but Tara had said that she was fine. Being, the guest, Jowy couldn't refuse.

As he lay in the bed, Jowy pondered about Tara. She was just this mysterious girl who lived at the edge of the Grasslands. Period. What is there to know about her?

Why was she here? Does she know anything at all about her past? Why does she look like him?

Jowy sighed and turned again. As he did, he heard a faint swooshing sound from outside the house.

Thinking that it was in intruder, Jowy immediately stood up and picked up his stick. He crept toward his window and looked around. Nobody was in sight.

Jowy crept towards the backyard, being very careful not to wake Tara, who was sleeping on a bed of hay near the kitchen. He tiptoed toward the window and peeked out. He saw a dark figure moving swiftly across the small garden.

Jowy prepared to burst out the kitchen door and charge the villain, but he stopped short in his tracks. The dark figure had hit the moonlight, and Jowy could see the face clearly.

It was Tara.

Jowy's eyes shifted from the clock on the kitchen wall and back to the window. It was almost midnight. How could she be awake?

Jowy gazed at her from the window. She appeared to be wearing a sleeveless blue top and a white skirt. She was practicing with a long stick like Jowy's, except that it was white.

The skirt didn't restrict her movements, though it was long. Tara moved with grace, as if she had been practicing to fight with a skirt for years. The stick she wielded around danced with her in flawless moves, twirling and hitting things around it.

Jowy's eyes moved to Tara's face. She looked very serious. She looked as though she was in the fight of her life.

She was oddly beautiful.

Jowy shook his head and crept back to his bed. He pulled the covers tight around him and shook all last thoughts of Tara from his mind. Satisfied, he fell asleep, the moonlight passing through his bedroom window.



~Owari~

It kinda sounds like it sucks real bad… and I mean bad. Damn… anyway, flames are accepted for the first few chapters, 'coz I can see how bad it really sounds.

~ Saeko