Marika: Yay! This fic has made it to chapter 2!!!
Kratos: That is a very low number to be celebrating.
Marika: ::pushes Kratos out of the fic:: Quiet you! You're not in this story! Ahem! Thank you so much to those who reviewed! Reviews make my world go round! :)
SapphireLove: Thanks! Believe it or not, there's a point to these random titles…
Sakasha: Thank you, reviews are good for the environment. :)
Chibi Presea: I hope it continues to be good! I've already started the next chapter, actually!
Lor: Nope, it's not a one-shot! I thought this fic was just to cute to stop at one.
Kitsune Asakura: Thank you so much for all your help with Sheena's background! I don't think this fic would have been nearly as accurate without your help. (Nor would it have made as much sense… lol)
Luv2Game: You wouldn't believe how hard it is to write them younger! I'm so tempted to write them as the adults they are now, but then I have to go back and think, "Hmm… would Zelos really know that word when he's this young?"
Aznboy714: Hey there's nothing wrong with a guy liking a good story! Well… at least I hope it's a good story…. lol
Potter29vo: Thanks again for all your reviews! You're so encouraging, and you inspired this fic in the first place! :)
That should do it for reviews, till next time, enjoy the fic!
A few minutes later, they arrived at the house of the Chosen. Immediately, an older man, presumably his butler, rushed to his aid, distressed to find Zelos's clothing all muddy. "Master Zelos! Wherever have you been?! And… oh dear… what have you brought back with you this time?" He glanced over at Sheena as if she were an unwanted stray kitten that Zelos had found. Again.
"Relax gramps. This is Sheena, she'll be staying here for a little while." Zelos waved a hand in the air casually, plucking the wet umbrella from Sheena's hands and throwing it to the side of the room. "Run a bath for her, and have a room prepared for the night."
"Are you…" The butler began, but at a harsh glance from the young Chosen, he nodded and left. "… as you wish, master Wilder."
"Quit calling me that gramps, it gets annoying." Zelos called after him.
"Dreadfully sorry, master Wilder." The butler bowed again and left to do said duties.
--Zelos obtained the title "Charming Aristocrat"--
In the meantime, Sheena had begun to glance around Zelos's house. "You… you really are the Chosen, aren't you? I had thought that maybe you were just making it up, but…"
"That's right! 100 pure Chosen in this fine body!" The red haired boy grinned and pointed a thumb at himself.
Shaking off the boy's stupidity, Sheena questioned him again, without looking up at the grinning boy. "Then why… why would someone like you care about someone like me? And what were you, the Chosen of Tethe'alla, doing out in the middle of a rainstorm?"
"My darling, I am here to help damsels in distress. So what if I choose to walk in the rain with my newfound hunny? I'm a Chosen all right, a chosen hero!" He placed his hands on his hips and laughed loudly, aggravating the drenched girl even more. Sensing that he was doing so, he quieted down a bit. Walking over to where the girl was standing, staring much too deeply at a rather heinous statue, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Taking a gamble, he decided to be much more forward than usual. "Sheena, I saw what happened. You were left behind, and I just couldn't sit by and watch that happen!"
-- Sheena obtained the title "Abandoned Waif"--
A lump caught in the girl's throat. Perhaps the Chosen wasn't as stupid and worthless as she had assumed he was. Did he actually care about her? Shaking her head, she cursed herself for thinking these things. "Heh, yeah right. You're just making this up to… to…."
"To do what?" He asked openly. "I don't have any reason to trick you. I just want to help."
"Do you?" She tilted her head to the side slightly, gazing at him with softer eyes. He seemed like such a nice boy. She really wanted to believe what he said. But then, a thin grimace grew on her lips, and she cast her gaze down towards the floor, as she continued to think of thoughts that had been troubling her since she first met the Chosen. "I… I lied before. If you really are the Chosen, and it looks like you are, I have heard about you. I've heard not to trust you."
"Why would someone say that? I'm the type of guy that responds to people's trust!" The red haired boy held his hands forward, palms towards the air in a very exasperated yet innocent manner. Then, putting all facades aside, he bent down ever so slightly to gaze softly into the muddy girl's eyes. "Sheena, I'm not trying to hurt you. I want to help you, if I can. There, now don't I sound sincere?"
"I don't know…" Sheena trailed off, fighting the urge to laugh at his somewhat witty comments. Zelos didn't seem like a bad guy to her, at least not yet. He seemed to be genuine and sincere. However, she had heard far too much about the ill practices of the Chosen of Tethe'alla. If he was just going to use her, then it would be better to forget this entire masquerade right now and find a way home by herself.
Sheena needed to know who to trust. She had been abandoned by her family, whom she had loved, or thought she loved, and now she had been left behind yet again by her so called 'family' from Mizuho. Wouldn't it be icing on the cake if the Chosen of Tethe'alla himself also betrayed her? With an expression that could be described as none other than deathly serious, she gazed back into his sky blue eyes. "Can I trust you?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Zelos smiled, taking her hand gently in his own. "Of course you can trust me."