Hooray! I'm updating again! Look at me tyyyype! (gets hit in the head with a shoe) Ow! Okay, okay, here's the stupid story... Wait! It's not stupid! I take it back! Aaah!! (Raine randomly comes and drags The Zelda Master away before she goes insane... more-so)
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Zelos: (to Sheena) Oh, brother. Is your chest the only part of you that's well endowed?
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Disclaimer: I may not own Tales of Symphonia, but I do own a copy of Fozzy's new CD, "All That Remains". Score!!
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The Quest for True Love/Chapter IX: The Right to Party – Meltokio, Part 2/
Zelos examined his reflection in his bedroom mirror yet another time, only now his hair was finally tied back into a lovely braid. "Now this is perfect," he beamed, looking over his appearance again and again from different angles.
"I definitely agree, Master Zelos."
"Aah!!" Zelos jumped at the sudden comment from his butler, "Sebastian! Where did you come from??" The Chosen dramatically clutched his chest where his heart would be, simply staring at Sebastian who stood poised at the doorway.
"I am everywhere; for that is the way of us butlers, Master Zelos."
Zelos chuckled nervously, "I'm... happy for you..." he commented uncertainly, but then quickly regained his composure as he cleared his throat, "Well, I certainly appreciate your accurate judgement." Sebastian bowed in gratitude, and then silently let himself out of the room... naturally, it was still unknown as to why he was in the Chosen's room, but he just left nonetheless. Zelos shook his head slightly to himself, "I attract the weirdest people to me..."
"Zelos."
The Meltokio noble jumped in surprise again, only this time it had been Sheena speaking from his doorway. He gave a fake cough, acting as though that were the reason that he was caught so off guard. "Oh, Sheena!" he exclaimed after his supposed cough, "You've come to visit me in my room? How bold of you!"
"How moronic..." Sheena murmured, rolling her eyes.
Zelos wandered over to where Sheena stood, "But seriously, what brings you here, my voluptuous hunny?" he questioned, eyeing the curves of Sheena's body in the process.
The ninja fumed, "Look me in the eyes and stop calling me your voluptuous hunny!!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Zelos waved his arms defensively, "No need to shout, my violent banshee."
Naturally, the fact that he added 'my violent banshee' did not help his cause. Sheena took in a deep breath, and released it in a sigh, "Never mind! I can't talk to you for two minutes without being appalled!" She turned around and walked out of the room. Zelos called for her to wait, but she completely ignored him. Persistent on having Sheena tell him what she wanted to say, the Chosen reached forward to grip onto Sheena's shoulder and hold her back... but he missed his target. Zelos accidentally grasped the strap that held up the top part of Sheena's dress, and he accidentally untied it, accidentally causing her upper body to become completely exposed. The irony of it all was that it really was an accident; however there was no chance that Sheena would believe that. "Z-Zelos! You pervert!!" she shrieked, throwing her arms in front of her chest to cover up.
"Ah..." Zelos was honestly speechless; he could not find any words. It was... humiliating! Had this been a random girl, he would have enjoyed himself... but this was his friend! It would be like seeing Sebastian in the nude... or his sister! Both very bad images for the Chosen's mind. Even though this was extremely embarrassing for both Zelos and Sheena, he was not about to look away. After all, he still found her really hot. "I'm sorry, Sheena! I didn't mean to..." he apologized at last while staring at her bare back, since she had not turned around to face him.
"You're sorry!? You didn't mean to!?" she retorted, "I highly doubt that, you disgusting pervert! You've gone too far this time!!" Sheena hurried to the spare room to fix her dress again... perhaps finding it necessary to double-knot the halter at the back.
When he finally came to grips with what a stupid mistake he had just made, Zelos stepped back into his room, sitting down on the bed. "That... didn't feel right..." he commented to himself. Immediately after speaking those words, Zelos raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Ah! What did I just say?? No. No, no, no. It did feel right. Very right. Yeah..." He rubbed his temples, thinking, "Argh... What's going on? Why do I feel...bad?"
"Because you have some decency, Master Zelos."
"Stop doing that!!" Zelos shouted at his servant, who had spontaneously appeared next to him.
Sebastian bowed remorsefully, "My deepest apologies, sir. I shall leave you alone to reflect." Sebastian then vanished from the Chosen's sight again.
"Reflect... sure..." Reflecting was not one of the Chosen's greatest talents; he was more of a 'screw thinking' type of person. But still, he did not simply want to ignore the questions in his mind. Then – as a substitute to looking within – Zelos walked over to the wall and bashed his head against it repeatedly in an attempt to beat out the answer, "Damnit! Why am I acting so considerate? It makes no sense!"
As Zelos continued to lose brain cells, Sheena exited the guest room and made her way towards the staircase, passing Zelos' room on the way. When Sheena heard smash after smash coming from inside of his room, she could not resist curiosity, and so she peered inside to find Zelos still hitting his head against the wall while uttering questions to himself. "Idiot Chosen," Sheena commented to herself before making her way back downstairs.
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Zelos and Sheena met up just outside of his mansion before heading to the party hall. Sheena was still blushing from the embarrassment of what had happened earlier, and even Zelos was a little red with humiliation. Without exchanging any words, they began on their way across the noble quarters. Stares were sent in their direction from random people on the streets, and with each stare, Sheena felt compelled to ask, "Do you want to go on ahead without me?" to which Zelos would reply, "No, no! I could never abandon one of my hunnies like that!" And each time, Sheena would either glare at Zelos after being called his 'hunny', she would go all out and shove him... never so much as to actually knock him down, of course. Just a warning.
The moment that they came within a ten-metre radius of the party hall, a swarm of groupies hovered about the Chosen, "Ooh, Zelos! You finally made! I'm, like, soooo happy!" "Hurry and come in! I'm really looking forward to spending some time with you, Chosen!" "Eeeee! Zelos! You look so cute in that outfit! Do you want to dance??"
Sheena backed away until she was a safe distance from the fangirls. They had not yet even entered the building, and already Sheena was searching for a way out. It was not long before a few girls dragged Zelos inside, and Sheena could do nothing but watch. Sometimes it was hard not to pity the Chosen. As Zelos was being carried away, he called something out to Sheena, but there was no way that she could have heard him over the bustling of every woman in the area. For all Sheena knew, he could have said anything from "Save me!" to "Don't interrupt me at any point during the night!" Even though the crowd exasperated her, Sheena followed suit and entered the party hall.
Even in the entrance lobby, Sheena felt out of place. The receptionist was dressed up in a fancy ensemble, and the noblemen and noblewomen were also looking rather dapper: the men wearing various styles of tuxedos – from a knightly fashion, to the classic suit – and the women wore long, elegant gowns... Long?! "Wait... Why is it only me stuck wearing something so skimpy?! That stupid Chosen... he would do anything to get a free show!" Sheena seethed inwardly. Apparently she appeared rather angry on the surface as well, because two girls walking by took one look at her and commented on her moody demeanour. Overhearing them, Sheena quickly forced herself to calm down, and then made her way into the actual hall. Inside, she felt even more unsuited for this environment. On the dance floor, nobles were ballroom dancing together – something that Sheena had never done in her life – and those who were not dancing were eating exotic foods that Sheena had never heard of. The summoner unconsciously moved off into a far corner of the room where she would hopefully go unnoticed... hopefully. Such was not the reality, however.
"Jeez, will you get a load of that Mizuho girl?" one of the noblewomen asked another. Sheena lifted her head and glanced towards the two girls upon hearing conversation about herself. "She's been given the honour of travelling about with Zelos, and yet she sits all alone, trying to look desperate for attention!"
The second girl giggled, "I know! But I must say, that outfit of hers says that she's desperate for something other than attention!" Both of the nobles broke into laughter, which sent Sheena into a fit of pure fury.
"Are you implying that I'm a slut?!" she exclaimed, moving to strangle either of the two girls. Before she got the chance to lay a hand on them, her arm was caught, "Huh?" Sheena turned around to find herself facing a nobleman who was not Zelos.
This man had blonde hair that fell gracefully just above his shoulders, and dazzling, emerald green eyes. There was a smile on his lips as he looked at the enraged, and now perplexed, ninja. "You'd best keep your temper under control here," he spoke at last; what a clear and charming voice he had! "You wouldn't want a start a scene, would you?"
Sheena nodded, "Ah... right... thank you, uhm...?"
"My name is Jean-Christophe, if that was what you were wondering," the man introduced himself, "But feel free to simply call me either Jean, or Christophe." Sheena merely nodded again; she felt rather sceptical of this man. He seemed very king and proper, but he was definitely not a typical guy. After all... who in Tethe'alla has a name like 'Jean-Christophe'?? "Would you care to dance?" Jean asked, finally releasing Sheena from the grip that he had on her arm.
"D-Dance?" Sheena thought nervously, "Umm... I'm sorry, but I don't really feel like dancing..."
She had expected him to respond with something like 'oh, come on! It'll be fun!', however he did not. "Very well. I won't force it upon you. Would you care to talk, then?"
The summoner was very surprised by how courteous Jean was. "I guess not all nobles are like Zelos... Heh. I shouldn't be surprised." She forced a smile, "Yes. I would like that."
While Sheena and Jean-Christophe carried on a conversation, Zelos was dancing with one of his hunnies. "Ah, heaven," Zelos thought to himself, clearly enjoying the rich atmosphere: the blatant gossiping between nobles, the scent of perfume on all of the women, the... Sheena talking with a rich man? "That's kinda weird..." Zelos thought to himself for a moment before noticing that his dance partner had stopped dancing. "Is something wrong, hunny?" he asked.
"Not at all," the girl replied, "I just had a strong, sudden urge to do this..." She threw her arms around Zelos' neck and pulled herself closer to him, pressing her lips against his forcefully.
At first, Zelos was surprised... but that did not last to long, as he soon kissed her back, "Bah. Forget about Sheena. This is way more fun!"
Sheena and Jean were still talking, when the noble suddenly asked, "Would you like to go somewhere more... private?" he questioned suggestively.
"Wh-what?!" Sheena exclaimed.
"You know very well what I mean..." Jean stated, stroking the side of Sheena's face affectionately.
The summoner jumped up from the seat that she was in, "Whoa! And here I thought I'd actually met someone decent!" she shouted, causing several surrounding people to look towards them, "I guess that's just a distant dream, isn't it?! Don't follow me!" Sheena stormed off up the nearby staircase to the balcony. She folded her arms over the railing and rested her chin on her arms, looking down at everyone below. She saw that repulsive Jean-Christophe making up some excuse that explained the way that she had stomped away, and she also saw Zelos making out with a random groupie. "Guys, they're all the same," Sheena grumbled. She closed her eyes and imagined what the ideal man would be like:
He would be from Mizuho – that was for sure – and maybe he would be a fighter... but not one so focussed on training that he would never be able to spend time alone with her; she would want to be with him often. And of course he would be very handsome – not in the way that Zelos was handsome, but perhaps more masculine. And his embrace would have to be warm and welcoming... every time they were united after being apart for a long time, Sheena would want to feel like she was home again when he took her in her arms.
Sheena heaved a dreamful sigh just imagining this perfect man. She could almost feel his strong arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest... Wait a second. She could feel it. Sheena opened her eyes and cautiously turned her head to face the person behind her. "Zelos!!" she screamed upon seeing that it was the Chosen holding her close. "Get off of me!" Sheena swiftly squirmed out of his grip and completely turned around to face him.
"I couldn't resist!" Zelos grinned mischievously, "Seeing you with your head in the clouds like that... Tell me... were you thinking about me?"
"Not at all," Sheena stated plainly, leaning against the railing once again.
Zelos stood next to her, watching as many of the nobles made their way out of the main hall, "Looks like the party's coming to an end," he observed. Sheena nodded in agreement. "Damn..." he muttered despairingly, "...I still didn't get laid." A smile graced Sheena's face as she suppressed laughter, but she could not hold it back for long, and she sniggered aloud. "Aww... are you laughing at me?" Zelos asked, pretending to be offended.
"I'm sorry, Zelos," the summoner forced herself to say between laughs, "You're just even more pathetic than I imagined."
"That's it!" Zelos said impatiently, yet jokingly. He took a hold of Sheena's left arm and forced her to face him, "Just for that comment, you owe me a dance." He placed his free hand on Sheena's hip, and slid his other hand along Sheena's arm until his fingers were laced with hers. Sheena blinked several times, simply staring at the Chosen. "No objections," Zelos insisted resolutely, "Just follow my lead." They stepped gracefully around the small area of the balcony; Sheena occasionally tripped over either her foot or Zelos', but was overall a rather refined dancing partner. And Zelos was rather impressive, too... by means that he did not try anything funny, such as grabbing Sheena's derriere. Of course, it did not matter that they were both fairly talented, because they were still on a tiny balcony. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong. And that something happened when Sheena had one of her uncoordinated moments right by the edge of the terrace. She stumbled backwards and shrieked, quickly realized that she was coming near to plummeting to the floor below. Zelos swiftly caught her and pulled her back up, "Shh! You don't want to attract any attention!" he whispered fiercely.
"What was that scream?" a voice asked.
Beads of sweat slid along the Chosen's face, "Ah, man... and I'd come up here to escape attention..." Zelos took a firm grip on Sheena's arm again, "Come on, I know a back exit." Without awaiting a reply, he pulled Sheena back towards the stairwell.
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It was a good thing that Zelos was so familiar with Meltokio. Because of it, he and Sheena managed to get back to his mansion without being hassled by any of the nobles. As they entered the house, Sheena asked, "Are you going to be staying in Meltokio now?"
The Chosen looked at her bemusedly, "Hmm? Why would I do that? I didn't find anyone of particular interest."
"But..." Sheena thought back to how she had seen Zelos in a lip-lock with one of the noblewomen, "You seemed to be making yourself pretty comfortable with one of the girls back at the party."
Zelos chuckled, "One? I must have made out with at least twelve and a half women today!"
Sheena gaped, "You... you were getting close to all of them and—" she paused, taking something into account, "...twelve and a half?"
"Don't question it, mmkay?"
"Sure..." Sheena agreed absent-mindedly.
"But seriously," Zelos stroked his chin in thought, closing his eyes to add to the drama, "I'm not going to stick around here if I'm looking for this so-called 'true love'. The people here... I can't stand being around them for a couple of hours, let alone a lifetime. I need somewhere serene, quiet... like Ozette." His eyes snapped open and shone brightly, "Yes! Ozette, that's the place! That's where the love of my life is!"
"Ozette?" Sheena repeated, "Well... all right. No objections here. It can't be any worse than Meltokio."
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Huzzah! Meltokio is complete! Now, to respond to all of your lovely reviews:
To Macross-Green – I stated it in the beginning AN of the last chapter that I've decided that this story takes place before ToS, so no other characters make appearances. (Under familiar terms, anyway) Ah, yes... I guess the whole Heimdall thing didn't make too much sense, did it? (sweatdrop) Oh well. Thank you very much for your feedback.
To Adriatic – Mithos is always a piece of cake to beat. Heehee... Regal's noble outfit makes me giggle. Then again... most of the different costumes make me giggle... including Zelos' lovely speedo. And (scratchs 'freak' and 'nerd' from list of insults to Colette) I am both a freak and nerd. I'm cool; Colette's not. It's great to pinch people's noses while they're sleeping! Ehm... not that I've been so cruel as to do it or anything...
To mizu – I'm really happy that you're enjoying the story so much!
To Justin T. Melanson – Ooh, my writing's suspenseful? Go me! I have kinda-maybe-talent! Yeah. Peace to you, too! ('Peace' is such an awesome parting word...)
To DownerLithium – Lost your password and e-mail address? Well that just sucks major arse. Glad you're still reading this fic and lovin' it, though.
To CerseLiminara – No, no. Not a girly man. Zelos is an effeminate man. There's a big difference.
To Zelos Rocks! – First off... the name you use is awesome. XD Also, thanks so much for reading. I'm really glad to hear that you like it so much. (Laughing an entire chapter is gooood.)
To Angel Lily-chan – It's always nice to hear that my writing is amusing. None of the other characters are going to be in the story, though, since this takes place before ToS. (Perhaps I'll give Presea a cameo appearance in Ozette...)
To Freakyleaf – Ah, thank you for returning the reviewing favour! Also, it's great that you like this story. Hope you keep reading!
To kitty-81090 – Well, die no longer waiting for the new chapter, because you just read it! Hooray!
To Katrina-chan – Glad you like it! And as for the pairing... (taunting voice) You'll seeee...
Thanks for reading anyone! I'll do my best to update soon!
