A/N: My first Tales fic ever, and it's on Tales of Symphonia, my newest game.

My Sweet Idiot

"Orochi, no," Sheena shouted as she watched in horror as the Summon Spirit known as Volt struck him down.

She dashed forward in hopes of saving Orochi from Volts' wrath. She leapt forward and expertly threw a shuriken at Volts head, but he merely shrugged it off. He was clearly angry though, and as he turned to look at Sheena, their eyes met. Sheena braced herself as Volt protruded a long tentacle-like whip and wrapped it around her waist. She felt her body explode in a sensation of ultimate pain as the electricity entered her body. Volt then threw her body towards the edge, hoping the fall would kill her.

But a saviour in red came to her. He caught her gracefully before landing on the ground softly, staring Volt in his eyes.

"Ku… Kuchinawa?" Sheena gasped, sparks still apparent across her body.

"Stay here," his words to her as he gently let her down.

Kuchinawa jumped into the air and threw three shuriken at Volt before diving down with his two daggers aimed at Volt. He jammed his daggers into Volt and jumped away into safety as he howled in pain. The other ninjas from Mizuho took the opportunity and began to mercifully attack Volt.

He struck back in a wave of electricity. Few escaped the onslaught, and those who didn't perished. A stray blast headed towards Sheena, but she was too weak to move out of the way. She stared at the flow of electricity as it barrelled towards her. She closed her eyes and awaited death.

"Ahh!"

Her eyes shot open as she felt herself be swept up in a pair of arms.

"Grandpa? What are you doing," Sheena asked in panic.

"Sheena… you must… live on," he responded, his voice dying out as he finally collapsed.

Orochi and Kuchinawa appeared beside her, their kunai held at the ready.

"The Chief is correct," Orochi stated. "We must evacuate the Temple of Lightning immediately before there are many more casualties."

The other two remaining ninja appeared in front of them.

"Orochi, Kuchinawa, get Sheena and the Chief out of here," the first began.

The second stepped forward before finishing. "We'll take care of Volt."

Kuchinawa stepped forward. "Father, you'll die if you stay here."

"We know that, son, but we need to distract Volt to get you to escape!"

Orochi's eyes widened. "Mother, you can't do this!"

"I'm sorry, Orochi, but this is the only way."

"No, wait, we can still help," Sheena struggled to get up.

"Sheena, you stay down," Orochi gently pushed her to her knees.

"No, you must go," Orochi and Kuchinawa's mother said.

She quickly twirled around and sent a wave of mana towards them, sending them off the edge and towards the exit. Orochi and Kuchinawa pivoted their bodies in mid-air to compensate for the extra weight from the battered Sheena, and the unconscious Chief.

They landed on the ground just in front of the exit with a hard thud. Already sounds of battle could be heard from the dais above.

Kuchinawa immediately sprang forward, attempting to help his parents, but Orochi stopped him.

"Brother, stop! We have to get Sheena and the Chief to safety. Sheena is the only one with the arts of Summoning, and we can't let any harm come to the Chief."

They carried the two out the exit and into the grassy fields beyond the Temple

"I'm sorry… Orochi… Kuchinawa… about your parents," Sheena mumbled.

Orochi turned to her. "Don't worry about it."

Sheena smiled before letting sleep overtake her.

--

Sheena sat up the instant she awoke, but soon regretted it. Immense pain in her abdomen met her as she tried to sit up.

"Sheena, please lay back, your wounds still haven't healed," a soothing and calm voice said to her as she laid back. "Glad you're awake, I was almost worried."

"Who… Lloyd?"

He smiled his usual enthusiastic smile. "Who else?"

"Where… where am I," Sheena asked dazed.

Lloyd's smile dropped immediately. "Oh no, Sheena, are you getting amne… amnis… are you forgetting your memories?"

It all came back to her. The fight with Kuchinawa for Corrine's bell on Decision Island… and how she lost.

"Of course not, idiot," she coughed. "Why am I still alive? Why didn't' Kuchinawa kill me?"

"He said he didn't want to waste his time with... weaklings," Lloyd replied.

"Oh," Sheena replied sadly.

"But you're not a weakling," Lloyd suddenly said. "I bet you could beat me any day with your super cards!"

"Stupid Lloyd," Sheena broke a smile. "Why didn't you take me back to Mizuho?"

"Cause you looked like you were too injured to move you," Lloyd said. "You were all sweaty and had blood all over you."

Lloyd's face reddened as he continued. "I… I had to clean you off, so I… uh… took off some of your clothes and washed you."

"What!?" Sheena yelled, anger apparent in her voice. "I can't believe you, Lloyd! Only Zelos would do something like that!"

"I-I'm sorry, Sheena!" Lloyd raised his arms in defence.

"But you know what," Sheena asked.

"What?"

"Thanks," she smiled. "By the way, what smells so good?"

"I'm no Genis, but this is the best I could cook up," Lloyd said as he poured her a cup of the soup he made.

She winced as she tried to sit up. Lloyd noticed this immediately and went to help her up. He placed his hands on her back and gently lifted her up so she was sitting. Her clothing was torn in various places and stained with dry blood. Her blood. The blanket that Lloyd used to cover her fell to her waist and she sat up straight.

"Thanks, Lloyd," Sheena said before picking up the bowl he poured for her.

She dipped her spoon into the bowl and brought a small amount of the hot soup to her lips.

"Wow, this is really good," Sheena exclaimed before taking another spoonful.

Lloyd grinned widely. "Thanks, Genis taught me how to make it!"

The two ate in silence and watched the campfire sizzle and roar, as well as the sparkling stars up in the sky.

"Beautiful," Lloyd muttered, staring up into the sky.

"What?" Sheena paused and looked at Lloyd.

"The stars… they're so beautiful," he said, tracing a few lines in the air. "I wonder if Yggdrasill ever looks up into the stars and realizes what he's doing."

Sheena had never heard Lloyd be so insightful before.

"And you know what, Sheena? You're beautiful too."

Sheena almost dropped her bowl in surprise.

"What did you just say," she asked surprised.

He walked over to her and knelt down so their eyes met. He leaned forward, their lips merely inches away.

"I said… you're beautiful."

He closed the gap and kissed her full on the lips. One of his hands made its way to Sheena's waist and the other to her face, caressing it smoothly. He laid her down gently before approaching her lips with his. He pulled away and made a trail of small kisses around her neck, his hands exploring every part of her body. Sheena moaned in pleasure.

He pulled away. "I love you, Shee-"

"Achoo!"

Sheena snapped back to reality as Lloyd sneezed. She dropped her spoon as her reverie was smashed to pieces.

"Aw man, it's getting cold," Lloyd complained before wiping his nose and rubbing himself for warmth.

"What the hell was that about?" Sheena asked herself.

She watched as Lloyd spilled some of his soup on his shirt. He frowned as he tried to desperately clean it off.

"Oh no! I ruined my favourite shirt," he frowned. "Now it's gonna smell like the soup."

He stopped, smiled widely, and laughed. "Wait, that's a good thing!"

Do I really like him… that way?

Lloyd noticed Sheena staring at him.

"What, is there something on my face?"

He wiped his face in an attempt to wipe whatever it was off, which was nothing.

He stopped for a moment, and then rubbed his chin in deep thought… if you could call it that.

"Say… can you teach me how to make those super cards now?"

"I already told you, it's a secret Igaguri style. No one outside the village can know how!"

"Yeah yeah, you told me before. The only way I'd be able to learn how is to marry someone in your village," Lloyd frowned.

"That's right," Sheena huffed.

Lloyd turned to her with a big grin on his face. "So let's get married!"

"W-what!?" Sheena almost coughed on her spoonful of soup.

Lloyd stood up with an excited smile.

"Yeah, let's get married, Sheena. You and me! Then you can teach me how to make your cool cards, right?"

"What? Are you kidding me, Lloyd," Sheena asked in surprise.

Her tone changed to a sad one. "Besides, we're just friends, aren't we? Friends don't get married to each other."

"Yeah, but," Lloyd said as he sat next to her. "I want to be more than friends."

Sheena turned her head towards him in surprise, but was caught off guard by a kiss from him. His hands moved to cup her cheeks as he deepened the kiss.

He pulled away still smiling. "So let's be more than friends."

"Lloyd…" Sheena said softly.

He moved in for another kiss.

"YO, SHEENA, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

This time, Sheena actually did drop both her bowl and spoon, but it was luckily empty thanks to it being so tasty.

"Are you alright, Sheena," Lloyd asked kneeling down to her.

His now gloveless-hands moved to her forehead, and then felt around her face. Sheena blushed at the contact, but then immediately changed.

She swatted his hands away. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Lloyd sat down next to her. "You've been spacing in and out lately, and your face is all red. Are you feeling okay?"

She brought up a hand to cover her face from Lloyd, she didn't want him to know that she was blushing.

"He really cares about me," Sheena thought. "Yeah… I'm okay, Lloyd. Thanks for caring."

"Of course I care for you, Sheena, we're friends remember? We're GREAT friends!"

"Yeah," she replied, a bit disappointingly. "Great… friends."

"Oh," Lloyd frowned. "You don't want to be great friends?"

Sheena looked annoyed. "Idiot!"

Lloyd turned back to the fire and tended to it before it died. He threw the last piece of firewood they had on the fire to feed it.

"I'll be right back," Lloyd said while getting up. "This fire needs wood!"

Before Sheena could respond, Lloyd had already disappeared into the dark woods. This left her with some alone time to mull about her thoughts.

"Lloyd… do I really care for him that way? I mean, he is a nice guy and all, but he's… Lloyd! The oblivious, dense, loud, sweet, caring Lloyd."

Sheena's hand fell towards her heart, and she felt the beat.

"My heart pumps faster whenever I think or whenever I'm near him. God, I'm so confused."

The sound of wood hitting the floor pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Lloyd must be back."

Before she could say anything, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her face, and the hot breath tingled her neck.

"Lloyd?"

"Shh," he replied calmly. "Don't say anything."

"What are you doin – ohhh," Sheena trailed off as Lloyd kissed around the nape of her neck.

Lloyd pulled her closer to her body as he kissed all around her neck, sending little sparks of pleasure throughout Sheena's body. She melted into Lloyd's arms as she enjoyed his treatment.

"Lloyd," Sheena panted.

"Whoa, Sheena, are you alright?"

"Wh… what?"

"I came back with some fire wood and you were moaning," Lloyd. "You called out my name, are you okay?"

"Damn, I did it again!" Sheena blushed madly as she remembered her most recent… experience with Lloyd.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied a bit shakily. She still hadn't caught her breath yet.

"Well… whatever you say," Lloyd dumped a few more pieces of wood into the fire before sitting back down.

A silence came to the two as Sheena watched the fire spark and Lloyd to the stars. The only sound was the sound of the fire cracking.

"Remember that dinner party Zelos threw," Lloyd asked, breaking the silence.

Sheena smiled at the thought of the event. "The one where Colette tripped and got cake all over Raine?"

Lloyd only laughed in agreement.

"Who could forget," Sheena laughed. "That jerk Zelos, I can't believe what he said afterwards."

"What did he say again? 'Oh my sweet galmourous beauty, let me clean you up. I'm sure the cake would taste much better.'" Lloyd paused. "But what did he mean by that?"

"Lloyd, you're such an idiot," Sheena said.

"You know I meant what I said," he said suddenly.

"You meant what you said," Sheena asked, confused.

"Yeah… that you looked cute in those clothes," Lloyd blushed deeply.

"Lloyd… thanks," Sheena replied.

Lloyd yawned loudly and stretched his arms. "I'm going to sleep, I'm tired. Good night, Sheena"

He laid down on the blanket he had and brought his arms up and made a pillow for himself.

"Yeah, good night, Lloyd."

Sheena followed suit and put her head on the pillow Lloyd had set for her, and then pulled the blanket to cover her body.

--

"… Lloyd! I… I've been waiting for you," Sheena said to Lloyd as he entered the terrace.

He looked surprised. "Sheena! Wow. You're actually in women's clothes."

She seemed a bit taken back. "Wh… what's that supposed to mean!... N… not that I care or anything."

Lloyd laughed. "Hahaha. Just kidding. It looks good. You're cute!"

Sheena blushed. "Really?!... Thanks. I was thinking I kind of stick out here. So I'm really happy to get a compliment."

"So what about me? I think it's not half-bad," Lloyd checked himself out. "If I do say so myself."

"Ah… yeah! You look handsome," Sheena had to fight the urge to blush even more so.

"H…hehe, its' kind of embarrassing when you say it straight out…" It was Lloyd's turn to blush.

Sheena laughed. "Hahahaha. That's your reaction after acting all cool?"

"No kidding, I jus can't seem to pull off the cool thing very well, you know?"

"Well, that's what makes you, you."

Lloyd looked over the edge before turning back to Sheena.

"Say, would you care to dance?"

Sheena almost yelped in surprise. "Dance? But there's no music."

As if on cue, the orchestra down below began to play a soft melody for everyone. It was very reminiscent of Bach's Air for strings in G (1)… but who the hell was Bach?

Lloyd extended his arm to her. "So, what do you say?"

She accepted it graciously and they both fell into the tune from the music below. Neither said a word, as words were not needed. They both swayed back and fourth, back and fourth. Slowly, Sheena rested her head on Lloyd's shoulder, enjoying the comfort of contact.

"Sheena," Lloyd muttered.

"Yeah," Sheena said as she pulled her head away from her shoulders.

"What is it?"

"You're beautiful," Lloyd dipped his head down and kissed her on the lips.

To say Sheena was surprised was an understatement. Her eyes were wide open in shock as Lloyd continued the kiss.

"Somehow," Sheena thought to herself. "This seems right."

She leaned into the kiss and returned it fully. After what seemed an eternity to the two, Lloyd pulled away from her.

"Wow," was the only thing that escaped Sheena's lips.

Lloyd pulled a stray lock of Sheena's purple hair from her head and put it behind her ear.

"Sheena, I love-"

He suddenly gargled and fell forward. He was limp in Sheena's arms.

"Lloyd!? What happened," Sheena asked in panic.

She looked at her hands and they were covered in his blood. To her horror, she found a dagger stuck in his back.

"Now that your lover is out of the way, it's time for you." Kuchinawa jumped down from the rooftop in front of her, another dagger held forward.

"Kuchinawa? What are you doing here," Sheena asked, mentally cursing at her lack of weapons.

"Now DIE" Kuchinawa leapt forward and attempted to slash Sheena in a wide arc.

Using her l33t ninja skills, Sheena flipped out of the way, the blade barely touching her flesh. She landed on the railing of the terrace, and quickly jumped to the ground below as Kuchinawa moved in for another attack. She landed gracefully on the floor and picked up a knife from one of the tables.

"Guys, Kuchinawa is here!" She looked around and found no one.

"Where could they be," she thought as she watched Kuchinawa with a piercing gaze.

Her l33t ninja skills saved her again as she quickly ducked out of the way of an incoming dagger aimed at her back. Using her uber-reflexes, she spun and grabbed it as it flew above her and was going to use it as a weapon. She turned to face the attack, and was stunned.

"Orochi? What the hell are you doing?"

"It's because of you our parents died!" Kuchinawa appeared beside him.

"And it's because of you the chief and almost half our village died!"

"I-I'm sorry! I know it was my fault… but I fixed it! I made the pact with Volt!" Sheena exclaimed.

"And that's what makes it worse," the ghostly form of the Chief, Sheena's grandpa, said as he appeared in the middle of the two ninja. "You've made pacts with all the Summon Spirits like they were nothing. Did you not care enough for your own grandpa to save his life?"

"Grandpa… I'm so sorry what happened to you," Sheena fell to her knees, tears streaming out of her eyes. The images of all the people who were killed filled the room.

"Why couldn't you save us?"

"Why did we have to die?"

"You're pathetic."

Sheena fell to the floor, her hands covering her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise.

"Stop… stop… I'm sorry…"

--

"Sheena, wake up!" She was thrashing around in her makeshift bed and making pained cries.

Lloyd awoke with concern and tried to wake her up.

"Ll… Lloyd," she asked and looked up at him. She felt his face to make sure he was real. "You're not dead?"

Lloyd smiled. "Of course I'm not dead, you dork, how could I be dead if I'm right here?"

She tried to sniff away the tears, but couldn't hold them back and let them run free. Lloyd lay down beside her and held her in her arms. She cried into his shoulders and gripped his body for support. He just held her and gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.

"I… I had the night again," Sheena said between the sobs. "But… why? I made the pact… the pact with Volt."

Lloyd didn't know what she was talking about, but he didn't care. "Its okay, Sheena, it was just a dream. Look, you're here with me now!"

"Lloyd… I'd like you to go away for a bit."

Lloyd was surprised at the request. "What? No way am I leaving you here like this."

"Please… I don't want you to see me like this… I don't want you to see me weak."

Lloyd looked into her eyes. "It doesn't matter, Sheena, I don't care if you're weak. You're still going to be my friend."

Sheena didn't say anything, but continued to sob on Lloyd. They stayed in that tableau for a while.

"Lloyd… you know, after all this, I've realized something."

"Hmm?" Lloyd replied, a bit sleepily.

"After all this… I realized that I think more of you now. I want to be more than just friends with you, Lloyd." Sheena waited for a response, but didn't hear any.

She looked up at his face and found that he was sleeping. Sleeping of all things!

"Tch… idiot Lloyd," Sheena smiled.

"But you're my sweet, sweet idiot."

Fin

1: I was listening to that piece of music as I was writing this. Bach's Air in Strings for G.

A/N: My first ToS fic. I bought the game a week ago, and I'm loving it.