10/12/04

Disclaimer: The characters in this fic, such as Nicolai, Karin, etc. don't belong to me; they are property of Midway, so don't sue! :P

Dedications: God, my friends, my cousins, my readers, Midway for gracing this magnificent RPG with a sequel, despite the ending they chose to go off of and finally, sudden inspiration for making me write this during periods of boredom.

Shadow Hearts II: Unspoken Intentions

By Tiger5913

He liked watching her fight.

He admired the way she moved around the enemies, carefully, yet exhibiting deadliness at the same time, fluid grace with a flash of silver that enticed a gleam of intrigue in his piercing green eyes. That mass of luscious red hair dancing through the air matched the small fire of determination kindling within her slender form, and he allowed the ghost of a smile to grace his lips at the thought. It was down to the last monster of their current battle, and she had assured him that she would take care of it, so he was standing back, merely observing her in action, taking silent notes on her level of skill. The skeletal creature's bones rattled a bit as it lunged at the female lieutenant, and she leapt away with a shrill yelp while simultaneously thrusting her sword forward in retaliation.

"Please, do be careful, Lieutenant," the young man watching the encounter called out helpfully after noticing her hesitancy, and inwardly wondered if he should step in and assist her.

"Don't worry, Nicolai. I can beat this… thing!" She managed to reply as she hurriedly adjusted the position of her stance and sprung back agilely, putting a little distance between her and the monster.

"All right, if you insist," Nicolai Conrad answered agreeably in spite of the slight concern curtaining his expression. "Just… just be sure not to let pride or overconfidence get the best of your judgment."

The redheaded woman glanced his way for a second and nodded her gratitude, realizing the underlying message of his statement that she could fight to her heart's content, and he would only help her if she asked for it. After the silent exchange of understanding, she turned her attention back to beating her opponent as the young priest loosened his grip on his sword, and relaxed into a more casual stance, resting his back against the wall behind him. If she could handle the remainder of this fight by herself, then she was more likely to withstand the rest of their ordeal; besides, considering her occupation as an officer in the army, she really needed the experience. The lieutenant had seemed slightly perturbed by the first battle they encountered in the tower, and he silently wondered about her qualifications at the time, but his doubts subsided when she turned out to be quite the quick adapter.

"Oh, Karin… your determination is rather admirable," he mused quietly, his eyes carefully tracking her slender frame as she dodged another lunge, her brows knit in a small frown as she avidly searched for an opening to strike the killing blow.

When the creature bent over too much at one point and gave her the advantage she needed, the agile swordswoman lashed out and struck it in the back with a fierce cry. The skeletal monster instantly crumpled from the force, and she quickly closed in to stab it down, nailing her foot in its spine for leverage and additional pressure to make sure her adversary would stay down. With an inhuman shriek, it convulsed briefly, bones quivering in an eerie rhythm, and then finally lied still in its designated resting place on the floor, much to the relief of its slayer. Karin Koenig waited a few minutes, just in case it somehow had a sliver of life left, before she released a heavy sigh and removed her sword from its plunge, and carefully sheathed it to hang next to her waist.

"Well done, Lieutenant!" Nicolai praised kindly, gently clapping his hands in brief congratulations as he slowly started to stroll down the short hallway toward his ally.

"Th-thank you…" she smiled at the compliment, seeming a bit embarrassed, and then began walking over to his position, stopping when she reached the midway point of the area to await his arrival.

As he got closer, he suddenly noticed a shadow looming over her head; it was another monster, but not just one of the same skeletons as before that the duo was slowly getting used to fighting.

"Lieutenant, behind you!" He shouted a warning as he hastened his pace to a dash, securing a tight hold on his sword, silently glad that he hadn't sheathed it yet.

"What-?" The young woman immediately whirled around upon hearing his words, and cried out in pain when she was greeted with a rock-hard slam to her temple. Even as her hand went to her waist and frantically scrambled for the handle of her weapon, she stumbled back, falling down on her bottom while the new creature steadily moved toward her. It was a tall, human-sized floating stone that appeared to be carrying a small creature next to its side as either an ally or a weapon, which hovered as well, staying around head level. Karin hastily pulled her sword out of the sheathe and shoved it at the enemy, but the blade only made a clang noise upon kissing the unyielding surface, then merely slid off-course into harmless air.

"Ahh!" She gasped in surprise, and quickly withdrew her arm just as the monster threw the smaller creature at her sword, knocking it away from her loose grasp before turning full attention to her now-defenseless form.

"Karin!" Her companion called worriedly upon realizing her predicament, and leapt from his current spot, knocking the woman off to the side as the animated stone struck again. The blow caught Nicolai in his shoulder, to which he grimaced slightly in response, but he doggedly arose from the dive after making sure the lieutenant was safely behind him. Turning to face the mystical rock monster with steel resolve in his sharp jade irises, the blond priest lowered his sword next to his hip and at the same time, raised his free hand up to his chest, beginning to quietly murmur a chant. A pale aura began to surround his body, and the bewildered creature looked at him quizzically, but with just a moment of hesitation passing by, it started levitating toward its opponent, clearly intending to attack him upon getting close enough.

Here it comes, foul creature… you shall be banished, he thought with a partial smirk, and then he thrust his arm in the direction of the monster, calmly casting, "Blessed Light."

Seemingly out of thin air, a gust of white light appeared and drifted forward, completely enveloping the floating stone as it was helpless to succumb, not even able to utter a bit of resistance. When the shadows settled over the dim hallway, returning the environment to its default darkness, the creature was gone, without a trace left of its previous presence, and Karin's eyes widened at the sight of empty space. Finished with the spell, Nicolai nonchalantly slipped his sword into its sheathe before turning around to check up on his companion, and he bent down partway while extending a hand to assist her. Gently taking a hold of his offered support, the female fighter slowly rose to her feet with a grateful, albeit shaky smile, although she still retained genuine amazement on her expression.

Concerned, the young priest glanced at her and questioned softly, "Are you… all right, Lieutenant?"

"O-oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you," she assured him quickly, but when she recalled that he too had been struck, immediately laid her eyes on his shoulder. "What about you? How is your shoulder?"

"That was just a small nick. Nothing to worry about, really," he waved his hand dismissively, continuing to speak with a touch of trepidation as he leaned toward her a bit just then to peer at the evidence of an injury, "I'm far more concerned about your current condition. There appears to be a bruise forming next to your eye…"

She frowned slightly at the mention, and her position faltered a bit when her temple began to throb from the aftermath of the blow that the stone creature had given her earlier.

"Let me heal that for you."

"I-it's all right, Nicolai," Karin graciously assured him with a small smile as she simultaneously fought the urge to grimace at the dully-thudding pain. "We should save our Thera Leaves for the higher floors of this tower…"

"Heh… I wasn't referring to using our supplies, Lieutenant," the young man informed her with a glint of amusement briefly shimmering in his dark pupils. "Just stay still for a bit, watch, and I'll show you…"

With that, he let go of her hand as he closed his eyes in concentration – she seemed to have finally realized they had been joined together from her fall up until now, and blushed faintly. Nicolai drew his palm to linger before his heart and quietly chanted the words to summon a spell, then waved his arm in his ally's direction as a pale blue light appeared and surrounded her petite form. She caught the name of the magic he was casting when he murmured, "Cure," and then started to feel a soothing sensation warming her body as the ache of her injury faded away. When the priest re-opened his eyes to survey his companion and make sure she had recovered, there didn't seem to be a need to ask aloud, her condition indicated by the calm serenity of her expression.

Nevertheless, he persisted; "Better?"

The dark-haired army woman nodded, her smile growing in appreciation as she told him, "Yes, although…" she paused, and after a moment of hesitation, gave into curiosity and half-asked, half-wondered, "I… I never knew that priests were skilled in offensive magic?"

"Ah, you mean the spell that I cast on the monster?" he smiled at her inquisition and explained patiently, "That is an easy one to learn, a very basic spell. Even priests that specialize in healing are advised to learn it for possible cases of exorcism."

"So… kind of like the situation we're in now, right?"

He nodded slightly. "Yes. Although judging by your testimony, my Blessed Light is most likely not strong enough to subdue that demon in Domremy, so I'm taking extra precautions in securing the item at the top of this tower."

"That's good," the redheaded warrior agreed, then further commented knowingly, "You shouldn't overestimate your abilities in a dangerous situation, after all… But anyway, thank you for your help, Nicolai."

"You're welcome," he replied simply, then glanced to the side, focusing on the hallway that branched off to several small areas of the second floor. "Well, shall we continue on? Or would you like to rest a while?"

"Oh, no, we can go on. Don't worry; I'm okay now, thanks to your magic. Just… hold on a second while I get my sword…" Karin looked down around the ground and walked a little ways, searching for her fallen weapon, and secured a tight grasp on the handle after she had located and retrieved it. "All right, I'm ready."

"Let's be on our way, then." He confirmed her readiness to proceed, and then started strolling along the stone path leading to the hall, periodically peering behind the corners in preemptive anticipation of approaching monsters. At the intersection, he noticed that the left and forward areas were both dead ends, so with a slight jerk of his head, he gestured for his companion to follow him to the right. She obeyed without protest and silently trod after him, staying close by, but gently tapped his shoulder when she spotted a treasure chest sitting at the back of one of the small side sections. Glancing in the direction she was pointing, Nicolai nodded his consent for her to go discover the goods inside, and so Karin went off to get it, but when she returned, there was slight confusion on her face.

"What is it?" he wondered instantly as his gaze fell onto the small pouch grasped tightly in her hand.

"Some kind of restorative herbal leaf…" the lieutenant told him as she opened the bag, and took out a small plant with a couple of leaves sprouting from the sides. "But I'm not sure what it is, since this doesn't look or smell exactly like Thera and Pure Leaves…"

"What you are holding is a Mana Leaf, Lieutenant," Nicolai informed her with a partial smile, then reached into his pocket and revealed to her that he held a few of the same item in his possession. "Spell-casting requires a considerable amount of concentration and energy, so all magic users, myself included, will consume Mana-type plants to regain our strength when we get fatigued."

"Oh… I see," she nodded, and raised her Mana Leaf up to eye-level to peer at it closely. "I've never come across one of these before… Well, um, since I don't use magic, you can have this, Nicolai."

"No, that's fine, really." The blond young man shook his head gently as he tucked his own healing items back into the folds of his ivory-white robes. "Thank you, but I have enough on hand. You keep it, Lieutenant. Who knows, you might need it someday."

"I… I doubt it, but all right." Karin shrugged slightly as she placed the leaf back into the pouch, and then the whole bag was moved to sit inside her pocket. Finished with the brief task, she glanced around and noticed the curve of the path before them. "Hey, look up ahead… stairs."

"Good, we're almost to the third floor then," he smiled approvingly and hastened his step a bit, inwardly eager to reach the top and retrieve the precious artifact that would surely even the odds of mere humans against a fierce demon.

Not too thrilled with the idea of dwelling on the current floor where she was recently injured, the female fighter quickly followed him, the soles of her shoes tapping lightly over the cold stone floor. As the two neared the stairs, a sudden change in the atmosphere made them both stop at the same time, although they then looked at each other bewilderedly as if trying to reach a conclusion together. Their attention went back to the forward position just as a faint light shimmered briefly, and out of it appeared a floating circular-shape with a cloudy presence in the middle that seemed to serve as concealment. The duo looked on curiously, internally wondering where the mysterious creature had come from, whether it was friend or foe, and surprise aligned their faces when it began to speak, addressing Karin in particular.

"I am the Ring Soul…"

After the conversation with the strange benefactor, the lieutenant proudly swung her sword in a circle, pleased that the new lightness of its weight was compatible with her stamina, and thus allowed her to execute an extra attack. Nicolai commented on her luck, being chosen by an enigmatic entity and granted power, though he silently thought it was a shame that her newfound strength would soon go to waste after only a few more upcoming battles. As they continued onward, ascending the stairs and heading further up into the tower, the young priest cast a critical eye on her, feeling a twinge of pity for the innocent woman's involvement in such large plans, but alas, he had to pursue them. Still, he had to admit that she had several traits he deemed worthy of an equal, such as having a good head on her shoulders, her persistence to succeed, and not to mention she was quite an attractive beauty. Perhaps if they had been in a slightly different situation…

Yes, it really was a shame that she had to be just a mere pawn… well, only for the time being if he got his way in the end.

The End

Author's Note: Yay, finished my first Shadow Hearts: Covenant fic! …At almost 2 o'clock in the morning! So, as I'm sure there are some errors in this fic, forgive me, as it's late and I have an entire day of glorious school to look forward to when I wake up in five hours… :::sigh::: Anyway, I'm probably the only Karin x Nicolai supporter in the world, but maybe more fans of that pairing will emerge with the appearance of this fic! …Hey, I can dream, right? :::cough, cough::: Well, as a final note, I hope you readers enjoyed this little fic of mine; please leave a review and let me know what you think! :)

With love for my fans,

Tiger5913