Disclaimer time again! Konami own Suikoden. I own pretty much everything else in the story. But the Suikoden world always belongs to Konami...So I'll just live with it. My story is better than theirs is anyway. (just kidding!).
This chapter is full of angst. It may not be suitable for sensitive readers as it gets quite violent later on. You have been forewarned.
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Andrew's Story - Chapter Thirteen and Elaine's Story - Chapter Ten
His Feelings, Her Nightmares...
(Location – Muse City, Leona's Bar)
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Andrew found it tough to get to sleep that night, he kept replaying the earlier scene in his head over and over again...
"No particular reason...it's kinda fun." He had said.
"Didn't I say that once?" She had replied.
"You might have." He had answered.
"Oh...I'm sure I did." She confirmed.
"Well, it is kinda fun. Nice even." He flirted.
"Yeah...it is nice." She accepted.
Their lips had nearly brushed together when that brat Nanami had ran in. Admittedly he was glad Jowy was okay, but...
I really...REALLY wanted to kiss her.
Andrew replayed the scene in his head for the umpteenth time...
"No particular reason...it's kinda fun."
Being so close to someone...it is fun...it's more than fun. It's amazing.
"Didn't I say that once?"
Yeah...you did. That's why I said it. We were whispering then, sharing secrets...
"You might have."
Am I...flirting with her?
"Oh...I'm sure I did."
Is she flirting with me?
"Well, it is kinda fun. Nice even."
Oh...my...god...I can't believe I just said that.
"Yeah...it is nice."
I think...I'm falling in love with the assassin...and she's now looking at me...oh god, this is torture...
And once again Nanami tarnished the whole scene. Andrew remembered turning to see Elaine, but she had gone...
I felt so confused then...I don't even know how you feel...and maybe I'll never know...
No. I have to know. No matter what she thinks of me, I have to know...I'll wait until morning. She's probably just as confused as I am right now.
I just hope she doesn't hate me now...
Because...I...I think...I mean...
I love her.
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Elaine lay in her bed, sobbing into her pillow. She had been crying as soon as she fell onto the bed.
I'm an assassin, I shouldn't be crying like this - much less over a guy...but Andrew...he tried to kiss me. Who am I kidding, I tried to kiss him too. I can't believe I tried to kiss him...thank goodness Nanami came in when she did...
But still...I really wanted to kiss him...even though I shouldn't. I...can't fall in love. Oh...I...oh Andrew, what must you think of me...
Elaine had replayed the scene in her head too...
"No particular reason...it's kinda fun."
I remember saying that to you...and you remember too...and what a way to use it too...
"Didn't I say that once?"
What a stupid question...
"You might have."
He didn't even notice, he's too interested...but in me?
"Oh...I'm sure I did."
Now I'm just babbling
"Well, it is kinda fun. Nice even."
Oh...my...god. He's flirting with me...does that mean...he likes me? Only one way to find out I guess...
"Yeah...it is nice."
And it really is nice too...being so close to you makes me tingly. In a good way...I just want to be close to you all the time...I hope you feel the same way...
We almost kissed then...I'm sure it would've been extraordinary...but I guess I'll never know now. I can't risk growing close to you...I'm sorry Andrew...I cannot let you that close to me. It kills me inside, but...it can never be.
He'll never forgive me...but it's for the best. He doesn't deserve someone like me...a person who kills for money, who is supposed to be heartless. It's not good for an Assassin to fall in love, I cannot have my heart melted...
Yet when I see him...oh, it's amazing...yet it hurts deep inside me. It reminds me of the last time...the last time that I was in love....
She began crying again. I don't want to hurt him...but for his sake I have to break his heart...I have to break his heart to keep him safe.
I'm...sorry Andrew.
She cried herself to sleep that night...the first time in a long time...and she had another nightmare...from her past...
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The State of Harmonia - Five Years Ago...
"You will do it then?"
The man passed over a pouch filled with Potch to the mysterious girl. She just looked up and nodded. She took the pouch of Potch and left the man's house with intent to kill...
Tracking was one of the skills of an Assassin, and this girl excelled in it. The wars that had torn through Harmonia had been excellent training for the young assassin, even if she never wanted to be one. She was a perfectly ordinary girl until the war started, she had grown up with a loving family and a lot of good friends...but the war took all of that away from her. Only her best friend, Darian, had survived with her, but they had been separated, the wars' work again. She hadn't even thought of him since deciding to train as an assassin. And now she had her first ever assignment. The man wasn't too clear on who it was she was to kill...but she knew where he would be. The man who paid her had been very specific as to where he would be. A little...too specific?
She pondered that thought for a second, but the jingling of Potch in her pocket put her mind at ease. Gotta love the eccentric ones.
She walked purposefully towards the clearing the man said he would be...she got there soon, and waited for him to arrive. Concealing herself expertly in the shadows.
She waited for a good hour before she sensed movement. Right on time...
She silently unsheathed her knife and took another look...only to see not one, but two figures. One was built like a tank, and looked like a mercenary. The other...looked somewhat familiar to the girl. She had to get rid of the big guy first though...but how?
She wasted no time, she jumped out from the shadows and managed to catch the big guy off guard with a swift kick to the back of his neck, enough to knock down the big guy before he could unsheathe his sword. She turned around to face the other man, and without any mercy ran up to him and slit his throat. She looked down at the dying man...who seemed to be uttering something.
"They got you after all...............Elaine............"
She dropped the knife. She suddenly remembered why this man looked so familiar. Because...it was...
"D...Darian? Oh no...what have I done?" She trembled.
"You did a very professional job, Elaine."
Elaine turned around to see the man who had paid her to kill...kill her best friend. He took off his hood, and Elaine was surprised to see who it was.
"M...master. You...this...was all your plan?" Elaine trembled some more.
"Oh yes. He was becoming quite a thorn in our sides."
"But...why? Why did you..."
"He tried to get you out of the guild. Many times, saying you shouldn't be in there. You should be with him. No way where we letting our prodigal child get away. So when we deemed you ready, we made sure you would be the one to kill him."
"It was....a test? I just killed two of your birds with one slash of the knife."
"Precisely. You must learn to kill without compassion, no matter who it is you have to kill. It is our most important lesson. And you passed. The heart of an Assassin must be cold as ice."
He disappeared...Elaine looked around to see where he had gone. All she saw was the dead body of Darian...
Except it was now Andrew's body that lay there...she let out a shriek. She never saw her master appear from behind her, and grab her arm and covered her mouth with his free hand. She struggled to get free, seeing his face...it too had become Andrew's face. And in Andrew's voice, he whispered in her ear...
"Because if your heart melts...we have no use for you!"
And without warning he slashed her throat with her own knife...
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"NO!!!!!!"
Elaine sat bolt upright in her bed. She looked around, figuring out that she was awake again. Her forehead coated with sweat, she was breathing irregularly. She heard the patter of feet approaching her door, and Andrew came in. His sword unsheathed.
"Are you all right? Were you attacked?"
"....no. Just a nightmare...a very vivid nightmare."
Andrew sighed with relief, "As long as you're okay."
He walked closer to her. She turned away, unable to face him. "No...stay away from me. Please."
Andrew looked confused, and Elaine saw it despite her intentions not to look at him.
"I don't understand...tell me what's wrong, please Elaine."
Elaine managed to turn back. "No, just get out of here. Leave me alone."
Andrew looked really upset. No...Please, don't look at me like that Andrew...please just leave...say no more.
"But Elaine, we need to talk about what happened..."
"JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!!"
She threw a nearby vase at him; he deflected it with his arm, it smashed into a million tiny pieces against the wall, and he reluctantly left the room. She began crying again almost immediately.
Everything I care for is always taken away from me. I won't let that happen again! I can't let anything happen to the people I love. Even if it means turning against them, I won't let them be taken away from me! Even if it means becoming an evil bitch...
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Angsty, isn't it...but next chapter gets even worse as...well, if you've played the game...you'll know. Next Chapter sees the final chapter in Muse City for now.
