Death Ninja's Note: I don't own Grandia II or any of the characters in it. They belong to Game Arts. However, the fanfiction and the character named Lance are mine. This fanfic is not making money so please don't sue.

Note: This fanfic takes place one year after Valmar is defeated, not one year after the game ends so Ryudo is 18, Roan is 14, etc.

JUST LOVE

Chapter One : Thunder Storm

Elena sighed to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom. She felt refreshed after a long, hot shower. She was dressed in a light, blue night gown and her golden hair was not tied into a braid; it cascaded freely behind her shoulders. She went to her dresser and took out a comb. She then sat on her bed and combed her long, silky, golden blonde hair.

Elena was staying in a guest room at Cyrum Castle. She was on vacation. Even though she enjoyed travelling and singing to people from different towns and cities, it was still quite tiring. So, she booked a whole month off so she could relax and clear her head. Even though most of the world was at peace, one thing still bothered her; Ryudo. Where in the blazes was he? He had been missing for one year, one month, and two days and a half. She always wondered if she would ever see the only man she could ever love. She knew Ryudo would come back, she had faith in him and the bond they shared. But the question was, when would he come back? She could not wait to see him and tell him all the things he missed.

Elena finished combing her hair and put the comb away. She lay on her bed. Tomorrow, she would go on a picnic with her friends; Roan, Tio, and even Millennia and Skye. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

***

Roan stood in front of a mirror and checked himself out. He was dressed in his normal clothing. For today, he was just Roan, not King Roan. He was going to Raul Hills to have a picnic with his friends. The Young King walked over to his bed where his things sat. He put his back pack on and put the Gladius in its sheath.

After Valmar was defeated, the monsters' population decreased dramatically and the monsters that were still around tended to stay away from humans as far as possible. There had not been a report of monsters attacking humans for more than a year now. But still, Roan was always prepared for everything. Should a monster attack them in the middle of their picnic, he would have something to defend himself with.

Roan left his room and went to the lobby. He found Elena and Tio waiting for him. Tio was dressed in her normal yellow clothing. Elena also wore her casual clothing except the bonnet on her head was gone and her hair was not tied back into a braid.

Roan smiled at his companions. "I apologize for making you wait. I had to go over some things with Paulk and I had to make sure I am fully prepared for the trip."

"What do you have in the back pack?" Tio asked.

"Some food, drinks, you know." the King replied.

"Roan, I thought I told you that me and Tio will take care of the food," Elena said.

Roan looked sheepish. "I am sorry but I just can not let you prepare everything for this trip. It would not be fair for you."

Before Elena and Tio could respond to him, Millennia and Skye entered the lobby. Millennia was also dressed in her casual clothes. "Hey, hey, hello everybody!" she smiled.

"Miss Millennia! Mister Skye! I am glad you made it!" Roan cried.

"I told you I'd be here. Do you really think I'd let you guys have fun without me?" the EX-Wings of Valmar grinned.

"So, everyone is here. We should get going now," Elena said.

The others nodded their heads in agreement and then they left the castle.

***

A tall, young man walked in a bar in the town of Mirumu. He had short, spikey turquoise hair and ruby red eyes. The bottom half of his face was covered with a dark blue mask. He wore a black coat over his dark, blue Ninja uniform. He strode toward a table in silence and seated himself despite all the people in the bar that gave him dirty looks. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as if he was in deep thought. "Soon... very soon... I will find you," he said to himself.

His eyes snapped open as he sensed three men stand before him. "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" he asked. His voice was deep but he spoke in monotone and his voice was void of any emotions or feelings.

One of the men held a broken beer bottle in front of him and gave the young man a cold glare. "Get the Hell out of here Ninja, you know your kind ain't wanted here!" he snarled.

"What if I don't leave?"

One of the other men snarled and quickly took out a knife. He swung his arm forward in an attempt to stab his heart. The young man backed away just in time to avoid the knife and then quickly took out a five foot long katana. He swiftly swung his katana forward and knocked the knives and beer bottles from the men's hands. He gave them a mocking look and sheathed his weapon.

The young man just pissed his enemies even more. One of them rushed forward and threw a punch aimed for his face but he caught it with his left hand. The young Ninja retaliated with a kick. He hit his opponent on the stomach and sent him flying to the other end of the bar.

He then turned to one of his enemies and narrowed his eyes at him. The young man's ruby red eyes burned to his opponent's. He put his right arm forward and fire emerged from his palm. At the sight of this, the other patrons in the bar ran away while they screamed things like "he's a demon, let's get out of here!"

"DARK FLARE!" the young man said and a big blast of flame flew out of his right palm. The attack sent his opponent flying to the other end of the bar as well to join his friend. The young man walked over to the last man with a murderous look on his face. Quickly, he brought his right hand forward, clamped on the man's throat, and raised him the air.

The man shook in fear and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The Ninja began to speak in his cold, monotone, emotionless voice. "This morning, you stole a necklace from a little girl. I want you to give it back to me."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Look, forget that I attacked you and said that your kind ain't wanted here. Please, just let me go," he begged.

The Ninja tightened his grip on his throat. "Give me the necklace or die!" The man could not speak a word and began to gag. The young Ninja growled and flung him to a table.

When the man recovered from his fall, he felt a cold blade on his throat. He looked up and saw that the Ninja was ready to cut his head off with his katana if he would not co-operate. "All right... all... right... I'll give you the damn necklace!" he snarled and reached for his pocket on his pants. He took out a shiny, silver necklace and tossed it over to the Ninja.

The Ninja put his katana back in its sheath and crossed his arms over his chest. "Mission accomplished," he whispered to himself and walked out of the bar. At the bar's entrance, a little girl with green hair and purple eyes waited for him. The Ninja took out the necklace from the folds of his gi and tossed it over to little Aira.

Aira favoured him with a big smile. "Thank you Mister Ninja. Now, I wish there was something I could do for you."

"Don't worry about it, kid," he said and gave her a friendly look. If the Ninja did not wear his mask, he could have been smiling. "Now, go give your present to your mother and if those thugs bother you again, just tell me."

"Thanks Mister!" Aira smiled again.

"By the way, the name's Lance," the Ninja said and then he quickly turned around and left.

***

Ryudo sighed heavily. He laid down on his back under a tree in the forests while he thought about Elena. He had not seen her for one year, one month, and three days and a quarter. He had just simply disappeared so he could put the Granasaber away. He had also thought about which he loved more; Elena or Millennia. After a lot of thought, he realized he loved Elena more. But there were some problems involved. One, he did not know where to find her. He tried to find her in Carbo Village but Father Carius said she left and joined a group of travelling singers. Two, how was he suppose to tell her his feelings? He had tried many times before but things did not go exactly as planned. Sometimes, Millennia would appear and ruin everything and sometimes he just ended up saying the wrong thing. Speaking of Millennia, what would she say when he tells her his choice?

"Ryudo, Ryudo, Ryudo... what are you going to do?" he asked himself.

"I know! First, I must find Elena and then tell her how I feel," his mind answered. Ryudo stood up, he decided to head to Cyrum Kingdom. Roan might know where Elena was.

Before Ryudo could take a step, one thing crossed his mind; even if he did find Elena, what would she say? Would she still love him? What if her feelings for him changed and found someone else all this time? "Ryudo, you're not even there yet," his mind told him.

Ryudo shook his head in disgust, sometimes he hated himself for being pessimistic, and began to walk. Cyrum Kingdom was not very far away from where he was. He should reach it in a day or two. The young Geohound then heard a branch snap from behind. Quickly, he took out his Maken Valborg. A man with a short sword then ran out of a bush. He swung his weapon at Ryudo but he blocked it with his Maken Valborg. Embers flew from their weapons as they crashed.

Ryudo backed away and brought his sword forward. The man stepped back and tripped on a big rock. He fell on the ground and dropped his weapon. Ryudo quickly kicked the short sword away from the intruder. Ryudo put his left hand forward and shouted, "Stinging Ice!" casting a Crackle spell. The attack sent chills down the man's spine and made his blood run cold. The intruder realized it was a mistake to attack the Geohound all along. He stood up and ran away. Ryudo swung his sword around in the air, put it on the ground, posed, and said, "You better practice if you want to beat me." Ryudo then picked up his Maken Valborg from the ground and continued to walk.

***

Elena and company finally reached Raul Hills and were having a picnic under a tree. "So, Miss Millennia, do you like being a teacher?" Roan asked after he took a bite out of his sandwich.

Millennia smiled. "Oh, it's okay. But there are times though when those brats are so annoying. If they weren't so cute, I'd blast them away with my Fallen Wings or a Dragon Zap."

"Being a teacher sounds like fun," Tio said.

"You have no idea," Millenia grinned.

Roan turned to Tio. "How about you Tio? How is work?"

"It is fine," Tio answered shortly.

"How about you Miss Elena?" Roan asked.

"Well, I enjoy performing in front of people. I really like what I do and the most rewarding part of my job is the applause I get from my audience." Elena answered.

"I heard your fans have started a fan club," Skye said, who was perched on a tree branch.

"Enough about me, what about you Roan?" Elena said.

"Well, my kingdom is slowly getting on its feet but I am afraid some things will never be the same. There are people who have moved on with their live and are progressing. But there are some who can not accept the defeat of Granas and Valmar so they still continue to worship them even if they are dead. Finally, there are those who can not recover from the things they have lost and chose to live dishonest lives to survive," Roan responded.

Silence then hung in the air, the five of them finally ran out of things to say to each other. All of them looked troubled as they all thought about the one person who missing; Ryudo. All of them wondered just what had happened to him. It was just not the same without him.

The silence was finally broken when all of them heard a distant rumbling. "What could that be?!" Millennia asked, a bit annoyed that her thoughts of Ryudo were disturbed.

Skye took off and flew high in the sky to see what caused the rumbling. He saw a huge cloud of dust that was headed their way. Beneath the cloud of dust were monsters, and lots of them. Skye quickly went back to his friends. "Let's get out of here!" he cried.

"What's happening, bird?!!" Millennia demanded.

"A whole horde of monsters is heading this way. Hurry, let's go to the dock!" Skye answered. The rest did not bother to pack whatever food was left for the rumbling on the ground grew louder. They headed back to the dock where their boat waited for them. Elena and company got on the boat, each grabbed a paddle and began to row.

***

"Damn! What is going on here?!" Ryudo cursed to himself as the forest suddenly became noisy. There were birds squawking, monkeys chattering, wolves howling, and many others, all at the same time. Usually, the forest was very quiet when humans were around. Ryudo looked up in the sky and his question was answered. Up in the sky, a whole horde of Devils were headed his way.

"Damn, you can't be serious!" Ryudo growled, unsheathed the Maken Valborg, and ran for his life. Two Devils from the air dive bombed at him but were quickly dispatched by a Tenseiken Slash.

Ryudo kept running with Devils attacking him here and there. Finally, the Geohound came across a dead end, a cliff. He looked down and the river below had a fast current, it would be suicide to jump down. Ryudo turned around as he heard a growling noise from behind. There were four Devils ready to kill him.

Ryudo quickly casted a Crackle spell on one of them, he knew that the monsters were weak against ice magic. "Stinging Ice!" he yelled as sharp glaciers from the ground dispatched the monster. One of the Devils took to the air while the other two rushed forward with their claws ready for attack. He tried to fend them off with his Maken Valborg but four clawed hands against one sword was an unfair match. Ryudo had to keep moving backwards to allow space between him and his opponents as he slashed with his weapon. Finally, the Devils stopped their attack with their claws and flew away. Ryudo sighed heavily as he found out that he was at the edge of the cliff. Just one more step backwards and he would have fallen off. A frown soon formed on his face, he wondered what just happened. The Devils had him, so why did they go away? He then looked up in the sky and his question was answered.

The Devil that flew in the sky before casted a Burnstrike spell. Countless of fire birds were headed straight at him. Ryudo was pummelled continuously with fire birds and the last blow sent him flying off the cliff. "Elena..." he whispered before he hit the water.