Note to Zell's Girl: I'm so very touched by you creating a fic that had a
Reed/Kathy part at the end. I'm so touched that I've decided to turn this
fic back into a romance, even though it will only be a small part at the
end.
Note to DEL: I've looked up Kidd's investigations. I've deduced it down to two possibilities: Kathy is either the daughter of Billy or the daughter of the man that inspired Billy to become a treasure hunter. I'm thinking that it would be closer to the latter, as I highly DOUBT Kathy is Melville's sister. No offence, but I just can't find any inspiration from that.
Chapter Three: Blaze
The next day, the Tinto warriors were still at Budehuc Castle. Reed was determined to express his feelings to Kathy, even though he couldn't become anything more than a brother-figure to her.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and everyone was cheerful for the wonderful weather. Even Lilly was a little brighter than normal. Currently, Lilly sat in the Inn, eating her lunch, while Reed and Samus stood in front of her, watching.
"I'd better ask now while milady is in a good mood." Reed thought. He straightened up and spoke to Lilly. "Milady, may I have your permission to take a fifteen minute break?"
Lilly swallowed a piece of food and looked at Reed with a glare that held no emotion. "Whatever for?"
Reed walked over to Lilly, bent down, and whispered into her ear. Bad timing, as Lilly had just placed another piece of food in her mouth. Lilly's eyes sprang open as she swallowed her food whole. Suddenly, Lilly started coughing and choking as she grabbed her throat. Lilly continued choking, desperately trying to catch her breath.
"Milady?" Reed asked as he slowly backed away. Lilly continued choking, grabbing her throat with one hand and slapping the table with the other.
Suddenly, as if on cue, Tuta and Mio marched into the Inn and walked towards Lilly. As Mio stood aside, holding a medical bag, Tuta examined the choking Lilly.
"Hmm...She seems to be choking on a piece of food." Tuta stated. "It appears to be stuck in her throat. This is quite serious." Tuta looked at his nurse. "Mio, the 'whack-bonk'!"
Mio immediately reached into the bag and pulled out an odd, baton-like object.
"What does THAT do?" Mel asked.
Tuta didn't answer. He simply placed the 'whack-bonk' against the back of Lilly's head. He pulled his medical instrument back, and thrust it forward.
*WHACK!* *BONK!*
Lilly was silent. She wasn't moving. Reed would've checked his employer's face to see if she was all right, but that was impossible considering her face was now planted into the table. Tuta and Mio marched out of the room as quickly as they came.
"Milady?" Reed and Samus asked timidly.
"...Reed?..." Lilly muttered weakly.
"Y-Yes, milady?" Reed asked, unsure if she was angry or not.
"...You have my permission...To take a fifteen minute break...Starting now." Lilly managed to say.
"Thank you, milady!" Reed said as he bowed and rushed out of the Inn.
"...Samus?" Lilly asked.
"Yes, milady?" Samus asked.
"Can you help me get back into my room?"
"Certainly, milady." Samus replied as he walked over to his mistress. "May I ask what for?"
"I think I've just received my first concussion."
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However, as Reed was rushing towards the ranch, four shadowy figures stood hidden at the edge of the woods on the other side of the ranch, watching Kathy as she tended to her horses. They each held a crossbow in hand.
"I don't know why we agreed to this." The third man muttered.
"Why should we care?" The leader quizzed. "We're getting paid handsomely for this job."
"Well, why does the boss have such an interest in those horses?" The second man asked.
"He says that those horses are more valuable than even the ones in Harmonia." The leader explained.
"Whoa!" The fourth man exclaimed, although not loud. "That's a valuable bunch of horses!"
"Anyway," The leader said. "The ranch girl there looks like she's gonna put all the horses in the stable soon." He pointed back to a campfire, which the men were blocking from view by standing in front of it. In the fire, sat four arrows, the tips blazing with fire. "As soon as she does, we'll fire those flaming arrows at the piles of hay surrounding the stable doors. As soon as she realizes the stable is burning, she'll let all of the horses out."
"And that when we nab them?" The third man asked.
"Correct."
"What about the girl?" The second asked.
"She doesn't matter." The leader stated. "If we nab her too, it'll only be a consolation prize." He noticed that Kathy had taken all the horses into the stable, went in herself and shut the door behind her. The leader turned to his companions. "Prepare the arrows!"
Meanwhile, Reed was rushing towards the ranch, only one thing on his mind: Kathy. He wanted to express his feelings so bad, he would do almost anything to tell her. Just the thought of Kathy's cheery personality made Reed's feelings soar.
Reed was almost at the ranch. Kathy was nowhere in sight, but the stable doors were closed. Reed figured that Kathy had gone into the stable. He was about to rush towards the stable when something caught his eye: Four men dressed in black, standing at the edge of the woods, aiming four flaming arrows at the piles of hay along the stable doors. Reed's eyes sprang open in horror, realizing what the bandits were going to do.
Immediately, Reed changed his direction. In a split second, Reed ripped his sword from his holster. In a split second more, Reed was charging towards the bandits who were taking aim at the hay.
"NO!" Reed cried. The forth man quickly turned his attention to the oncoming man and immediately fired his arrow. The arrow barely missed Reed's right shoulder and struck a tree, quickly setting it on fire. Unfortunately, at the same time, the others had already fired their arrows, all of which hit a pile of hay.
Reed made quick work with his sword. Within minutes, all four bandits were dead. Reed stood over the bandits, clenching the handle of his sword with anger.
Suddenly, Reed heard a shrill, ear-piercing scream. Reed's eyes widened even more.
Kathy!
Reed spun around instantly, his horror increasing just as fast. The whole stable, save the door and a few parts of the roof, was engulfed in flames! At first, Reed wondered how it could ignite that fast, but he realized that the stable was made of wood, which made it quicker to burn.
Well, that was the least of his worries at the moment. Reed rushed over to the stable as fast as his feet could carry him. Reed rushed over to the door and tried to open it. Reed's eyes sprang open. The door was jammed! He banged his fists against the door.
"KATHY!" Reed cried, praying she was alright. "KATHY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Ungh...Reed?" Kathy's voice replied. Reed suddenly heard someone banging against the door. "REED! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Reed heard Kathy cough a few times. "IT'S GETTING HARD FOR ME TO BREATHE!"
Reed started to panic. This had never happened to him before. Someone's life was actually in his hands. Suddenly, Reed brightened. He turned back to the door.
"Kathy, stand away from the door!" Reed instructed.
"Okay!" Kathy coughed. "But please hurry! I don't know if I can take the smoke much longer!"
Reed quickly backed away from the door until he was a fair distance away. Clenching his sword, Reed charged towards the door. Once he got close enough, Reed lashed out his sword, striking the door with more force and power than he had ever done before. The sword attack managed to significantly weaken the door, so Reed added power by using his shoulder to plow his way through. The doors burst open as smoke immediately poured out into the air.
Reed looked around the stable, he quickly spotted Kathy kneeling on the ground, coughing. Her head was lowered, her face covered by her hat. Kathy's head lifted when she heard Reed cry her name.
"REED!" Kathy cried as she got to her feet and ran at Reed.
Kathy practically threw herself at Reed, her arms wrapped around his neck in a death hug. Kathy buried her head into Reed's chest, sobbing and coughing.
"Kathy, there's no time to lose!" Reed stated. "We need to get your horses out of here!"
Kathy quickly pulled away from Reed and nodded her head. The two quickly released all most of the horses, and they all charged out of the stable and ran off down the hill, towards the Bujitsu Center/Blacksmith. Soon, the only horse left in the stable was Gage. Reed turned to Kathy, who looked like she was getting weaker from all the smoke.
"We need to get out of here!" Reed said, starting to cough.
Kathy nodded, coughing. "Let's take Gage! We'll be out of here quicker!"
Reed and Kathy both ran towards Gage, but Reed quickly noticed Kathy was slowing down.
"Kathy?" Reed asked, looking over his shoulder. Kathy didn't answer. She simply coughed a few more times and collapsed to the ground. All the smoke had gotten to her. "Kathy!" Reed cried as he rushed to Kathy's side. He knew it was pointless to try and wake her up, so Reed scooped up the unconscious girl into his arms and ran back towards Gage.
Reed released Gage from her stall and hoisted the blonde rancher onto Gage's back. He climbed up himself, although he was still feeling a little weak. Reed sat down in front of Kathy and grabbed her arms. Reed wrapped Kathy's arms around his waist and used his belt to tie them together, just to make sure Kathy didn't fall.
"Come on, Gage!" Reed said. "Let's go!"
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"What's going on?!" A fully awake Juan asked Peggi, wide eyed. "I heard a scream!"
Peggi was equally wide eyed, holding his golden hammer in his left hand. Both he and Juan were staring at a pillar of smoke rising from the ranch's area. Scattered around their area were most of Kathy's horses. The only one absent was Gage.
"I wish I knew!" Peggi replied. By now, a lot of the castle's residents were gathered around the area.
"What's happened?!" Juan and Peggi heard. They turned to see Thomas and Cecile rushing down the stone steps, towards them. With them was Hugo, Chris, Lilly and Samus.
"That's what WE'D like to know!" Juan stated as he turned back to the smoke.
"It seems to be coming from the ranch!" Peggi said.
Lilly gasped as she covered her mouth. "Reed's out there!"
"Come on!" Hugo stated. "We can't just stand here! Let's go help!"
Before anyone could agree with the Flame Champion, everyone heard a horse's footsteps slowly approaching. Everyone was silent, no one daring to make a sound. Everyone, even Lilly, prayed that Reed and Kathy were alright.
Suddenly, something came in view. A horse was slowly approaching, two figures perched on top. The male was breathing heavily, while the female was unconscious. Her arms were bound around the man's waist to prevent her from falling. Both were burned, but the female looked worse.
"Reed! You're alright!" Samus cried. A roar of cheer erupted from the crowd.
As soon as Gage came to a stop, Reed untied Kathy's hands and jumped off Gage, the unconscious youth in his arms. "I'm...Fine." Reed said in between breaths. "But the ranch isn't looking too good."
Hugo turned to the rest of the crowd. "Those with a water rune, go to the ranch and try to put out the fire!"
Chris, being the bearer of the True Water Rune, led a group towards the ranch. At the same time, Reed charged through the crowd, up the steps, towards the main building, Kathy in his arms the whole way. Reed rushed through the building...Towards the Infirmary.
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Hours passed. Reed nervously paced back and forth in front of the Infirmary, with a small group of the castle residents, all just as nervous. Even after all this time, Reed was still waiting to Tuta and Mio to come back with a response to Kathy's condition.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Tuta came out. Reed was immediately in the doctor's face. "Is she alright?!" He asked frantically.
"She's suffered severe burns in several places, but other than that, she's fine. She's just resting now." Tuta replied.
Reed grinned widely, tears of joy running down his face. "May I please see her?"
"Go right ahead, but be quiet." Tuta explained.
Reed quickly, but quietly, entered the Infirmary. He quickly spotted Kathy lying on one of the beds, sleeping. Reed walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her, his legs still resting on the floor. He watched as Kathy peacefully slept. Reed thought that, even though she still had burn marks on her face, Kathy was still as beautiful as ever. Reed realized right then and there just how much he cared for Kathy, and he didn't feel like being her 'big brother'.
Suddenly, Kathy jolted up in her bed. "The stable! The fire! The horses!" Kathy cried.
Reed quickly grasped Kathy's shoulders, helping to bring her back to reality. "It's alright, Kathy. You're in the Infirmary. Your horses are all safe."
Kathy slowly turned her head to stare at Reed. Her crystal-like tears ran freely down her face. "Reed?"
Once again, Kathy lunged at Reed, wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.
"Oh, Reed! I was so scared!" Kathy sobbed. "I've never been that scared in my life! If you weren't there..." She trailed off, drowning her voice in her own tears.
Reed shushed her. "It's alright, Kathy. I got you out." He said. "All of your horses, especially Gage, are alright." Reed let a stream of tears run down his face and into Kathy's hair. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."
Kathy pulled away and stared at Reed. "Why's that?"
Reed sighed. "I was coming to the ranch to tell you something when I noticed some bandits about to set the stable on fire."
"What were you gonna tell me?"
Reed decided to stop stalling and straight out tell her. "I love you more than anything, Kathy. If you died before I told you that, I'd be scarred for life."
Kathy was staring at Reed, eyes wide and mouth open. "I-I-I don't know what to say."
Reed sighed. "I'll understand if you don't love me back, Kathy. I just wanted to tell you that."
"Reed," Kathy said weakly. "I don't know what I would've said if the fire hadn't started," Kathy suddenly cracked a warm smile. "But because you saved my life, I've just made up my mind."
Kathy didn't reply with a 'yes' or a 'no'. She simply grabbed Reed by his jacket and pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss. Reed was startled by Kathy's actions, but was thankful for what she did. Reed wrapped his arms around Kathy, savoring his first kiss.
Reed didn't care what Samus thought. He didn't care what Lilly thought. He didn't care what ANYBODY thought.
Kathy was his and that was all that mattered to him.
END
Author's notes: Sorry if I've been confusing you guys with the constant genre changes, but I just haven't been knowing what to do. Well, now that I'm finished, I've got two Suikoden fics in mind for my next project: A one- shot Rody/Belle and a songfic starring Juan. The question is, which would you guys like to see first? Please read and review!
Note to DEL: I've looked up Kidd's investigations. I've deduced it down to two possibilities: Kathy is either the daughter of Billy or the daughter of the man that inspired Billy to become a treasure hunter. I'm thinking that it would be closer to the latter, as I highly DOUBT Kathy is Melville's sister. No offence, but I just can't find any inspiration from that.
Chapter Three: Blaze
The next day, the Tinto warriors were still at Budehuc Castle. Reed was determined to express his feelings to Kathy, even though he couldn't become anything more than a brother-figure to her.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and everyone was cheerful for the wonderful weather. Even Lilly was a little brighter than normal. Currently, Lilly sat in the Inn, eating her lunch, while Reed and Samus stood in front of her, watching.
"I'd better ask now while milady is in a good mood." Reed thought. He straightened up and spoke to Lilly. "Milady, may I have your permission to take a fifteen minute break?"
Lilly swallowed a piece of food and looked at Reed with a glare that held no emotion. "Whatever for?"
Reed walked over to Lilly, bent down, and whispered into her ear. Bad timing, as Lilly had just placed another piece of food in her mouth. Lilly's eyes sprang open as she swallowed her food whole. Suddenly, Lilly started coughing and choking as she grabbed her throat. Lilly continued choking, desperately trying to catch her breath.
"Milady?" Reed asked as he slowly backed away. Lilly continued choking, grabbing her throat with one hand and slapping the table with the other.
Suddenly, as if on cue, Tuta and Mio marched into the Inn and walked towards Lilly. As Mio stood aside, holding a medical bag, Tuta examined the choking Lilly.
"Hmm...She seems to be choking on a piece of food." Tuta stated. "It appears to be stuck in her throat. This is quite serious." Tuta looked at his nurse. "Mio, the 'whack-bonk'!"
Mio immediately reached into the bag and pulled out an odd, baton-like object.
"What does THAT do?" Mel asked.
Tuta didn't answer. He simply placed the 'whack-bonk' against the back of Lilly's head. He pulled his medical instrument back, and thrust it forward.
*WHACK!* *BONK!*
Lilly was silent. She wasn't moving. Reed would've checked his employer's face to see if she was all right, but that was impossible considering her face was now planted into the table. Tuta and Mio marched out of the room as quickly as they came.
"Milady?" Reed and Samus asked timidly.
"...Reed?..." Lilly muttered weakly.
"Y-Yes, milady?" Reed asked, unsure if she was angry or not.
"...You have my permission...To take a fifteen minute break...Starting now." Lilly managed to say.
"Thank you, milady!" Reed said as he bowed and rushed out of the Inn.
"...Samus?" Lilly asked.
"Yes, milady?" Samus asked.
"Can you help me get back into my room?"
"Certainly, milady." Samus replied as he walked over to his mistress. "May I ask what for?"
"I think I've just received my first concussion."
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However, as Reed was rushing towards the ranch, four shadowy figures stood hidden at the edge of the woods on the other side of the ranch, watching Kathy as she tended to her horses. They each held a crossbow in hand.
"I don't know why we agreed to this." The third man muttered.
"Why should we care?" The leader quizzed. "We're getting paid handsomely for this job."
"Well, why does the boss have such an interest in those horses?" The second man asked.
"He says that those horses are more valuable than even the ones in Harmonia." The leader explained.
"Whoa!" The fourth man exclaimed, although not loud. "That's a valuable bunch of horses!"
"Anyway," The leader said. "The ranch girl there looks like she's gonna put all the horses in the stable soon." He pointed back to a campfire, which the men were blocking from view by standing in front of it. In the fire, sat four arrows, the tips blazing with fire. "As soon as she does, we'll fire those flaming arrows at the piles of hay surrounding the stable doors. As soon as she realizes the stable is burning, she'll let all of the horses out."
"And that when we nab them?" The third man asked.
"Correct."
"What about the girl?" The second asked.
"She doesn't matter." The leader stated. "If we nab her too, it'll only be a consolation prize." He noticed that Kathy had taken all the horses into the stable, went in herself and shut the door behind her. The leader turned to his companions. "Prepare the arrows!"
Meanwhile, Reed was rushing towards the ranch, only one thing on his mind: Kathy. He wanted to express his feelings so bad, he would do almost anything to tell her. Just the thought of Kathy's cheery personality made Reed's feelings soar.
Reed was almost at the ranch. Kathy was nowhere in sight, but the stable doors were closed. Reed figured that Kathy had gone into the stable. He was about to rush towards the stable when something caught his eye: Four men dressed in black, standing at the edge of the woods, aiming four flaming arrows at the piles of hay along the stable doors. Reed's eyes sprang open in horror, realizing what the bandits were going to do.
Immediately, Reed changed his direction. In a split second, Reed ripped his sword from his holster. In a split second more, Reed was charging towards the bandits who were taking aim at the hay.
"NO!" Reed cried. The forth man quickly turned his attention to the oncoming man and immediately fired his arrow. The arrow barely missed Reed's right shoulder and struck a tree, quickly setting it on fire. Unfortunately, at the same time, the others had already fired their arrows, all of which hit a pile of hay.
Reed made quick work with his sword. Within minutes, all four bandits were dead. Reed stood over the bandits, clenching the handle of his sword with anger.
Suddenly, Reed heard a shrill, ear-piercing scream. Reed's eyes widened even more.
Kathy!
Reed spun around instantly, his horror increasing just as fast. The whole stable, save the door and a few parts of the roof, was engulfed in flames! At first, Reed wondered how it could ignite that fast, but he realized that the stable was made of wood, which made it quicker to burn.
Well, that was the least of his worries at the moment. Reed rushed over to the stable as fast as his feet could carry him. Reed rushed over to the door and tried to open it. Reed's eyes sprang open. The door was jammed! He banged his fists against the door.
"KATHY!" Reed cried, praying she was alright. "KATHY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Ungh...Reed?" Kathy's voice replied. Reed suddenly heard someone banging against the door. "REED! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Reed heard Kathy cough a few times. "IT'S GETTING HARD FOR ME TO BREATHE!"
Reed started to panic. This had never happened to him before. Someone's life was actually in his hands. Suddenly, Reed brightened. He turned back to the door.
"Kathy, stand away from the door!" Reed instructed.
"Okay!" Kathy coughed. "But please hurry! I don't know if I can take the smoke much longer!"
Reed quickly backed away from the door until he was a fair distance away. Clenching his sword, Reed charged towards the door. Once he got close enough, Reed lashed out his sword, striking the door with more force and power than he had ever done before. The sword attack managed to significantly weaken the door, so Reed added power by using his shoulder to plow his way through. The doors burst open as smoke immediately poured out into the air.
Reed looked around the stable, he quickly spotted Kathy kneeling on the ground, coughing. Her head was lowered, her face covered by her hat. Kathy's head lifted when she heard Reed cry her name.
"REED!" Kathy cried as she got to her feet and ran at Reed.
Kathy practically threw herself at Reed, her arms wrapped around his neck in a death hug. Kathy buried her head into Reed's chest, sobbing and coughing.
"Kathy, there's no time to lose!" Reed stated. "We need to get your horses out of here!"
Kathy quickly pulled away from Reed and nodded her head. The two quickly released all most of the horses, and they all charged out of the stable and ran off down the hill, towards the Bujitsu Center/Blacksmith. Soon, the only horse left in the stable was Gage. Reed turned to Kathy, who looked like she was getting weaker from all the smoke.
"We need to get out of here!" Reed said, starting to cough.
Kathy nodded, coughing. "Let's take Gage! We'll be out of here quicker!"
Reed and Kathy both ran towards Gage, but Reed quickly noticed Kathy was slowing down.
"Kathy?" Reed asked, looking over his shoulder. Kathy didn't answer. She simply coughed a few more times and collapsed to the ground. All the smoke had gotten to her. "Kathy!" Reed cried as he rushed to Kathy's side. He knew it was pointless to try and wake her up, so Reed scooped up the unconscious girl into his arms and ran back towards Gage.
Reed released Gage from her stall and hoisted the blonde rancher onto Gage's back. He climbed up himself, although he was still feeling a little weak. Reed sat down in front of Kathy and grabbed her arms. Reed wrapped Kathy's arms around his waist and used his belt to tie them together, just to make sure Kathy didn't fall.
"Come on, Gage!" Reed said. "Let's go!"
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"What's going on?!" A fully awake Juan asked Peggi, wide eyed. "I heard a scream!"
Peggi was equally wide eyed, holding his golden hammer in his left hand. Both he and Juan were staring at a pillar of smoke rising from the ranch's area. Scattered around their area were most of Kathy's horses. The only one absent was Gage.
"I wish I knew!" Peggi replied. By now, a lot of the castle's residents were gathered around the area.
"What's happened?!" Juan and Peggi heard. They turned to see Thomas and Cecile rushing down the stone steps, towards them. With them was Hugo, Chris, Lilly and Samus.
"That's what WE'D like to know!" Juan stated as he turned back to the smoke.
"It seems to be coming from the ranch!" Peggi said.
Lilly gasped as she covered her mouth. "Reed's out there!"
"Come on!" Hugo stated. "We can't just stand here! Let's go help!"
Before anyone could agree with the Flame Champion, everyone heard a horse's footsteps slowly approaching. Everyone was silent, no one daring to make a sound. Everyone, even Lilly, prayed that Reed and Kathy were alright.
Suddenly, something came in view. A horse was slowly approaching, two figures perched on top. The male was breathing heavily, while the female was unconscious. Her arms were bound around the man's waist to prevent her from falling. Both were burned, but the female looked worse.
"Reed! You're alright!" Samus cried. A roar of cheer erupted from the crowd.
As soon as Gage came to a stop, Reed untied Kathy's hands and jumped off Gage, the unconscious youth in his arms. "I'm...Fine." Reed said in between breaths. "But the ranch isn't looking too good."
Hugo turned to the rest of the crowd. "Those with a water rune, go to the ranch and try to put out the fire!"
Chris, being the bearer of the True Water Rune, led a group towards the ranch. At the same time, Reed charged through the crowd, up the steps, towards the main building, Kathy in his arms the whole way. Reed rushed through the building...Towards the Infirmary.
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Hours passed. Reed nervously paced back and forth in front of the Infirmary, with a small group of the castle residents, all just as nervous. Even after all this time, Reed was still waiting to Tuta and Mio to come back with a response to Kathy's condition.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Tuta came out. Reed was immediately in the doctor's face. "Is she alright?!" He asked frantically.
"She's suffered severe burns in several places, but other than that, she's fine. She's just resting now." Tuta replied.
Reed grinned widely, tears of joy running down his face. "May I please see her?"
"Go right ahead, but be quiet." Tuta explained.
Reed quickly, but quietly, entered the Infirmary. He quickly spotted Kathy lying on one of the beds, sleeping. Reed walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her, his legs still resting on the floor. He watched as Kathy peacefully slept. Reed thought that, even though she still had burn marks on her face, Kathy was still as beautiful as ever. Reed realized right then and there just how much he cared for Kathy, and he didn't feel like being her 'big brother'.
Suddenly, Kathy jolted up in her bed. "The stable! The fire! The horses!" Kathy cried.
Reed quickly grasped Kathy's shoulders, helping to bring her back to reality. "It's alright, Kathy. You're in the Infirmary. Your horses are all safe."
Kathy slowly turned her head to stare at Reed. Her crystal-like tears ran freely down her face. "Reed?"
Once again, Kathy lunged at Reed, wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.
"Oh, Reed! I was so scared!" Kathy sobbed. "I've never been that scared in my life! If you weren't there..." She trailed off, drowning her voice in her own tears.
Reed shushed her. "It's alright, Kathy. I got you out." He said. "All of your horses, especially Gage, are alright." Reed let a stream of tears run down his face and into Kathy's hair. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."
Kathy pulled away and stared at Reed. "Why's that?"
Reed sighed. "I was coming to the ranch to tell you something when I noticed some bandits about to set the stable on fire."
"What were you gonna tell me?"
Reed decided to stop stalling and straight out tell her. "I love you more than anything, Kathy. If you died before I told you that, I'd be scarred for life."
Kathy was staring at Reed, eyes wide and mouth open. "I-I-I don't know what to say."
Reed sighed. "I'll understand if you don't love me back, Kathy. I just wanted to tell you that."
"Reed," Kathy said weakly. "I don't know what I would've said if the fire hadn't started," Kathy suddenly cracked a warm smile. "But because you saved my life, I've just made up my mind."
Kathy didn't reply with a 'yes' or a 'no'. She simply grabbed Reed by his jacket and pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss. Reed was startled by Kathy's actions, but was thankful for what she did. Reed wrapped his arms around Kathy, savoring his first kiss.
Reed didn't care what Samus thought. He didn't care what Lilly thought. He didn't care what ANYBODY thought.
Kathy was his and that was all that mattered to him.
END
Author's notes: Sorry if I've been confusing you guys with the constant genre changes, but I just haven't been knowing what to do. Well, now that I'm finished, I've got two Suikoden fics in mind for my next project: A one- shot Rody/Belle and a songfic starring Juan. The question is, which would you guys like to see first? Please read and review!