Disclaimer: TOS belongs to Namco, not me. Just had to clear that up since I'm sure it was confusing a lot of people.

Tales of Symphonia

Lonely One's Love

Chapter 4: "The Unresolved"

By Cole-san

The village of Iselia was nestled in a distant corner of Sylvarant. Despite not being near much in the way of civilization, the people there did quite well for themselves thanks to a pleasant climate, fertile soil, and the large forest right outside the village gates. The occasional tourist would find a tranquil village with little to no problems, or so it would seem. Unfortunately, hidden behind the veneer of peaceful country life, the village had been a rather close-minded place. Hatred had run rampant in the little town, and the kow-towing that it used to give the Desians was also quite disturbing. This was all rather ironic, or perhaps not so ironic, when one considered that the village was practically the center of Martel worship in Sylvarant, due to the large temple located right next to it. Still, much had changed in the town, though outwardly it seemed the same. The people scowled a little less, the children played a little more, and everything seemed...brighter. This was due to two things. The first was of course the ending of the mana drain system that had reduced Sylvarant to the poor state it had once been. The second was a little less earth shattering but no less important. The people had, through much effort, finally shaken the yoke of bigotry off of themselves and moved past it. No more would they hate and despise for little reason. No more would they point fingers uselessly instead of working to improve things. Yes, things in Iselia were much nicer now. Yet, for one of the town's most famous residents, things were not so nice.

Colette was in her room, staring outside the window as she often did. When she was little, she would stare outside and dream of leaving all the responsibility and loneliness that being the chosen entailed. She would see the birds flying and envy them, dreaming that she could do the same. Just fly away...

"Now I have wings, and I can fly...but I'm still tied down..." She thought sadly, thinking of her duties. It had been a little over six months since they had defeated Mithos and restored both worlds to their proper state. Six months exactly since the group had parted ways. Everyone had gone on to live their lives to the fullest. Regal resumed his duties, Zelos resumed his philandering, Presea helped to rebuild Ozette, the Sage siblings traveled in search of their mother, Kratos returned to Dherris-Kharlan, Sheena led Mizuho, and Lloyd...

"Lloyd...where are you? Why did you have to leave? Why did you have to disappear...?" She didn't fight the tears. She couldn't even if she wanted to. The ache in her chest was growing worse.

"Lloyd..."

Half a world away, but no longer a full world like before, the new village of Mizuho stood. Situated in an isolated point past even Hima, the relocated village was already starting to resemble its former self. There was still a lot of work to be done of course, but they were well on their way. This was in no small part due to the current Chief of the village, Sheena Fujibayashi, who had succeeded her adopted grandfather officially. The young woman was dedicated to her people and worked hard to better their lives, as any good leader should. She also trained relentlessly. She knew that it was the leader's responsibility to protect their people, and that meant being strong. Though already the most powerful shinobi in the world, due in part to her summoning abilities, Sheena knew that she had to be even stronger, in case a threat like Mithos ever appeared again. To that end, she had begun working on increasing her repertoire of fighting skills. She was already quite fast, but her seals just weren't effective enough on their own. So she decided to train using the kodachi she had inherited from her grandfather. Using the melee weapon in conjunction with her debilitating seals proved a formidable combination. She could now seal and weaken an enemy, then finish them off with her blade.

It was on this day that she was sparring with Orochi, who had proven to be even more powerful than his brother, Kuchinawa. In their spars, Sheena refused to use any summoning or seals, wanting only to practice with her sword and ninjutsu. By limiting herself this way, and isolating her training like this, she could improve in these areas much faster. Currently, they were engaged in a furious training session that to the casual observer would look like a duel to the death, judging by the potent ninjutsu and weaponry being used.

The two ninja moved at high speeds, their swords smashing against each other as they tested the other's defense for an opening. Sheena spun back and in the same motion unleashed a trio of kunai at her opponent. Orochi responded by throwing three shuriken, knocking her projectiles out of the air, and then throwing three more. With incredible speed, Sheena caught them in mid-air with one hand and threw them back. Behind his mask, Orochi smirked and leapt up into the air. Pulling a new set of shuriken from his side-pouch, he tossed them at Sheena, who rolled to the side. This was what he wanted however as he had predicted her move and was already in position to attack her while she was coming up from the roll and therefore off guard. Or so he thought, but Sheena surprised him by suddenly splitting into three separate identical forms as she rolled.

"Damn, she created bunshin..." Not willing to risk attacking the wrong one and leave himself open, Orochi retreated again and readied more shuriken. He tossed several at each replication, but was further shocked when all three proved to be fake.

"Oh no!" It was too late however. He felt a blade press against his throat.

"I win Orochi!" Sheena laughed and sheathed her sword. He turned, sighing.

"Yes Chief, you are the best after all." He muttered. The girl smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Aww, c'mon, don't look so down! You almost had me a few times." She admitted with a smile. Orochi nodded faintly, staring at her.

"So beautiful and so skilled...truly, there has never been another like her." He thought with embarrassment.

"Anyway, thanks for the spar. I need to go have a talk with the village farmers. It seems our harvest might be a little less than we're used to. I guess Sylvarant hasn't fully regained its proper mana supply yet, since the soil is still pretty bad. We might have to find alternative sources of food for a while." She sighed.

"We can't even import food in bulk since we're supposed to be a secret village." Her downcast face seemed out of place. Orochi was used to it however. Ever since she had parted from her friends, she had been rather depressed, though she did her best to hide it. It saddened him, because she had seemed so much happier while traveling with them, even beginning to get over the Volt incident, but now...it was as though a part of her had died all over again.

"Still, I shouldn't complain." She said quickly at his concerned look.

"Chief...Sheena...you mustn't push yourself." He advised.

"I know, I know. You sound like the Vice-Chief." She laughed at his blanch.

"I'm just concerned." He muttered.

"I know. Thank you Orochi, you're a...good friend." She said warmly, but with a hint of sadness, before turning and walking off. Orochi sighed as he watched her go.

"Damn you Irving..." He growled to himself, his hands tightening into fists.

In Goaracchia Forest, it is survival of the fittest. Only the strongest creatures live, and the weak ones die. Which is why most would consider it suicide for a group of bandits to make the forest their base of operations. But a group of bandits had done so. They were nameless, and not very numerous, yet thanks to their leader's surprising strength, they were more than powerful enough to survive in the forest. He hadn't always been so strong. Barely six months ago he'd been weak, and they had been small-time crooks. Yet now, they had half of Tethe'alla fearing them. One day their leader had changed. He had become colder, more commanding, and he had begun using powerful magic. Which was odd when one considered that he was human and had never shown any ability before, but his men were not about to question him, not when he could flay the skin from their bones, and he had after all, provided them all with exspheres. They had erected a crude safe house deep in the woods and it was there that they lived.

"Hey boss, are we gonna go on another raid? We might be able to get more exspheres from Sybak. Should I get the men ready?" One of the underlings asked. Their leader snorted derisively as if insulted. He was seated in a large chair, one arm propped up to support his chin.

"Be quiet and let me do the thinking fool." He replied with annoyance.

"Boss! Boss!" Another ran into the room, panting for breath.

"What?" The leader asked darkly.

"Someone's headed this way, and he's really strong! He's killin' every monster in his way without even trying!"

"Probably just some adventuring twit." The leader muttered with a sigh. The door to the house was suddenly thrown off its hinges and a figure entered. He was dressed in black, with a tattered brown cloak covering most of his body. His wavy brown hair, and piercing eyes were familiar to the leader however.

"You..." The leader leapt to his feet and growled angrily.

"I finally found you...Yggdrasil." The newcomer said with a slight smirk, before drawing twin swords, each ornately crafted with golden hilts and thin yet deadly blades. They were known as Kusanagi, or Grasscutter.

"This time...I'll finish you off once and for all!"

Author's Notes: I know, I know, I skipped way ahead. Sorry, but I will reveal what went on in Flanoir, just not right now. I suppose this is AU since many events, including the Flanoir talk, are a little different from the game. You'll see what I mean when I get around to writing them, heh. Anyway, hope you liked it, and sorry for the short length. I hope to make the next part longer by a fair bit. Next part should be coming soon.