Chapter 3: Masahiro and Pamela

"What luck," griped Kylie as she trudged through the rain. "Getting stuck in the Golgorand Execution Site on Christmas day. She adjusted her maroon colored hair band, and put her Gold Helmet back on.

"Well, it could be worse," said her companion Strawberry. "We could be trekking through Barius Valley on Christmas Eve. Oh wait, we did." She adjusted her Germainus boots, which were full of water.

"Will you stop complaining?" Kylie heard Ophelia yelled from behind them, dragging her poor walking buddy, Agrias Oaks, behind her. "Ramza didn't complain when he had to spend his birthday in the Sweegy Woods." She shook the leaves out of her simple Mediator dress.

"I remember that." David spoke up. "Remember when you got stuck in the giant pot hole, Dorothy, and we had to get you out?"

"That wasn't in the Sweegy Woods," Dorothy said in an annoyed voice. "The place where I got my foot stuck was in Igros, and Cindy helped me out of it. Remember Cindy? And Keane? And Akintunde? I miss them."

"I'm sorry I never knew them," Masahiro said. He shook his dark hair out of his green eyes.

"What I would like to know," a shorter Archer named Pamela said. "Is where Ramza, Chris, Marty, Mustadio, Rush, and Daniel are." Masahiro looked at her, and she blushed. Masahiro had always been a loner because he never talked to the others much. But he was so attractive, and Pamela had known that he was the only one who really understood her condition because she saw it in his eyes. Except for Chris, that is, who experienced the very same thing.

Masahiro flashed his beautiful green eyes as Pamela flushed even deeper. She was so gorgeous. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and a smile to die for. Not to mention her impeccable aim with a crossbow. She was so amazing, and Masahiro wondered if she would pay any attention to him. He hoped so, but he feared that she would ignore him or label him as 'unsocial' like the others did.

Besides, why should she spend her time with someone like him? He was a criminal, he escaped from Warjilis Jail some time ago, and hid out in Barius Valley for two whole years before he met Ophelia and she talked him into joining. He never told anyone, but he could see it in Pamela's eyes when she looked at him.

And the crime wasn't even his fault! When he was seventeen, his uncle came into his house and shot his parents. When his brother Jack came home to the carnage and his uncle blamed it on him. His own brother had him arrested, and so Masahiro fled to Barius Valley, where, those long two years later, he was found by Ramza and he looked into the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen.

"Hey, Masahiro," Pamela said quietly when they reached the others. "We should probably work on our accuracy over near that pillar." She pointed to a spot that had no pillars near it, but was so secluded from the others that no one could see them.

"Why work on it? Both our accuracy is already almost perfect," Masahiro said, turning away and started to sit down.

"Please?" Pamela begged as she sat next to him. "My accuracy is not as good, and it would mean so much to get some pointers from you." Her eyes were big and hopeful, just like a child waiting for her mother to say she could go outside to play.

"Sure."

Pamela's eyes lit up, and she grabbed her Windslash Bow and ran over to the suggested area. Masahiro did the same. Pamela tossed her blonde hair out of her way as she lifted her bow.

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"I'm gonna hit that tree right there," she said, looking at a tree directly in front of her. She shot and missed on purpose just to get Masahiro to say something. She turned around and looked at him hopefully.

"That was terrible," he said, and she was crushed. She had expected at least some sympathy for him. "Let me show you how it's done." He fired and hit the same mark she was aiming for dead center. Three times in succession he shot, and all three hit the same mark.

"That was amazing," Pamela said. "You're so much better than me."

"Don't patronize me Pamela," Masahiro said. "I know how much you like me." Pamela blushed. "But nothing can happen, because I like you too, and if I have you, I'll just lose you like everything else."

Pamela moved towards him and took his hands in hers. "I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not that you're leaving, it's that I'll lose you because I lost everything else I care about." He sighed.

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Well, let me put it this way," Masahiro began. "Once upon a time, there was a young man named Masahiro O'Bannon. He was part of a very well-to-do family, and his uncle was a very important business man. But, his uncle's brother, Masahiro's father, was extremely popular. Whenever his uncle made a deal, his father struck a bigger one. This was too much for him to handle, so one day, after work, Masahiro's uncle came home. Masahiro was only seventeen at the time, and his brother was nineteen. Masahiro's uncle came inside with a gun in his hand, and walked towards his parents' bedroom." Masahiro caught his breath.

"And he shot my parents," he finished. "I mean Masahiro's parents. First, he shot Masahiro's father, and his mother tried to call the police, but she dialed nothing because he shot her too. Leaving the gun in Masahiro's room, his uncle left for his own house. When his brother Jack came home, he found the gun and tried to turn Masahiro in, because he thought it was his fault.

"So Masahiro hid in the Warjilis Jail, the last place they would look, until it was safe. Then he fled to Barius Valley to be safe. And there he hid for two long years. Until one day, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen came along. He had with him a young Archer that caught Masahiro's eye, and his Mediator didn't have to do much work to get him to join them in their fight."

Pamela smiled. "Well, it looks like he turned out okay. And," she teased. "What happened to that gorgeous Archer he met? Did he ever talk to her, ask her about herself?" Masahiro laughed.

"Yes, he did. But he's still waiting for an answer."

"To what question?" Pamela asked. Their faces were inches from each other. Putting his hands on her hips, he pulled her into him and kissed her. Her arms somehow found their way around his neck.

"I love you," she said as they pulled apart.

"I love you too, but if we're together, something terrible will happen to you, like everyone else I ever loved." A tear appeared in his eye.

Pamela sighed. "Okay, well," she sobbed slightly. "It was worth it just to know you." They stared into each others eyes for a while until a sound made them both jump. A gunshot. It hit Pamela in the arm. With a cry, she collapsed on the ground

"Uncle!"

The man looked at him. "Masahiro!? I should turn you in right now for killing my brother and his wife."

"Like hell you should! You killed my father and my mother! You can burn in HELL for what you did!" He brought his bow up and shot his uncle directly in the chest.

"No," Pamela croaked. Standing, she continued to speak.

"Don't kill him. He doesn't deserve death. He deserves to live with the guilt of killing his brother. He deserves to rot forever in prison. Kill him now, and you'll be just like him. You'll rot in hell with him. Don't do this Masahiro. If you have any decency at all, don't kill him."

"Yes, yes, listen to your girlfriend," the man said with an arrow lightly embedded in his chest. He reached for the gun in his coat pocket. "If you kill me, you'll go to jail."

"No one's going anywhere until I get a confession from you."

"Alright, alright," his uncle said, pulling the gun out of his coat pocket. "I killed you parents, and I'm sorry. But you can take solace in the fact," he loaded the gun. "That you'll be joining them soon!"

He fired the weapon, but not before the gun was knocked out of his hand by a stray arrow. It came from Pamela's bow.

"I guess you have better aim than let on."

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"How do you feel?" Masahiro walked sat on Pamela's hospital bed in Warjilis City Hospital.

"Better," she said. "But these bullet things hurt like hell." Masahiro laughed. "But the got the bullet out, and they're gonna do some research on it to see if they can replicate it. Mustadio's giving them some help."

"Well, interesting as it is, I still prefer the feeling of a bow in my hands," Masahiro said, and Pamela laughed.

"I love you Masahiro," Pamela said.

"I love you too, but I don't want to-"

"Masahiro?"

Masahiro turned around to see his brother, Jack O'Bannon standing in the doorway to Pamela's hospital room.

"The nurses told me that I could find you here," he said. "I had a lot of time to think about that night, and I had the gun dusted for fingerprints, and they matched Uncle's. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you Jack," Masahiro sighed. "Did you try to find me afterwards?"

"We looked every day. You're a slippery little bastard you know that?" Masahiro laughed. "You know," O'Bannon continued. "You can come back and live right here in Warjilis."

He looked at Pamela. "Sorry boys, I'm staying with Ramza."

"Then I guess you are too, eh brother?"

"You know it."

"Come visit me in here in Warjilis sometime, okay?"

"Of course brother. After all, we are family."

O'Bannon laughed. "I'll be leaving now. Look me up if you need a place to stay."

"I will." Masahiro took O'Bannon's hand and shook it. "Better days."

"Better days." And with that, O'Bannon left.

"Looks like we're all alone," Masahiro said.

"What about you're fear of losing people?"

"It might take some work, but I could get over it," Masahiro said, and Pamela laughed. He kissed her again.

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A/N: This is probably the best chapter, in my eyes at least, of this story so far. It is by far the most believable of the ones so far, and I just like the character of Masahiro so much more than Ramza for some reason.

Next comes Ophelia and Daniel.