- 07. City in Shambles -

Their lips had barely touched or Kratos had already pulled away

"No…." he said as he stood up, turning his back on her.

Anna was confused, it all happened so fast. She felt happy, yet she was sad. She felt relieved, yet she was disappointed. Why did he pull away? How could she allow this man to toy around with her heart?

Anna looked up as Kratos let out a sharp whistle.

She frowned. "Oh great, every being out there must have heard that"

She looked into the distance to see something coming their way. Perhaps it was a caravan that could save her from this confusing man. Probably not…the area looked pretty much neglected.

She focused her eyes on the thing that seemed to be running straight at them. She recognized something that looked like…ears…long ears and a sweeping tail. It looked like a dog…a BIG dog. Maybe it was a wolf?

Kratos didn't seem to notice.

The creature was running towards them at full speed now, its ears waving in the wind as it came closer and closer.

Anna gulped, her heart beating in her throat. She wanted to run but her body was frozen, like it was pinned to the ground. She yelled as the creature jumped right over her head and towards Kratos.

Anna's jaw dropped down to her feet as she saw Kratos standing there, smiling, while scratching behind the ears of the creature.

"It's good to see you again my friend…" he said in a voice that resembled both calamity and adoration.

Anna was trembling as she tried to stand up to her feet. He…he knew this…THING?

"What, in the name of Martel is THAT?" she cried out as she bluntly pointed at the creature.

"THAT, is Noishe, a protozoan" Kratos chuckled.

"Proto…what?"

The creature growled…

"A protozoan, he is somewhat comparable to an evolving kind of monster."

"Humph…." She replied as she slowly walked away.

"If you're planning on leaving, you should at least take someone with you. It's dangerous to walk these roads on your own…" He added. He didn't really sound like he was planning to go with her.

"Well, whatever" she said. "I'm going home"

Kratos sighed, as he threw a dagger at her feet. "Then at least take this with you, you need something to protect yourself with."

"Oh, so now you expect me to thank you, right? Thank you for the wonderful time you've spent with me Mr. Aurion. Goodbye to you!" she yelled as she picked up the dagger and turned her back on the man.

Kratos sat down as he watched Anna become a small spot in the distance.

He smiled as he stroked Noishes' head

"This, I need to see…"

"Unbelievable" Anna hissed under her breath.

What had caused his sudden mood-twist? He was so gentle and sweet earlier. Then why didn't he stop her when she left?

She sighed. This was going to be a long journey indeed…

After a few hours of walking, Anna started to feel uneasy. She felt a strange presence…almost as if…she was not alone…

"Stop following me!" she called without looking back.

"For your information, I'm not following you. I'm headed towards Luin for my own business…" a voice from behind her called.

Anna stopped and sharply turned her face.

"L-Luin? You can't!"

"Oh? Might I ask why?" Kratos calmly asked.

"Because I live there! I was headed towards Luin as well!" Anna screamed hysterically.

"…Then I'm afraid our paths cross again" he said as he slowly walked past her.

"Wait a minute! Just…what is your problem?" she asked as she tried to catch up with him.

"I don't have any problems" he calmly added. "You seem to have a problem with me…"

"Oh, for crying out loud! Don't you think you went a little bit too far back there?"

"…I wasn't really bothered by it." He shrugged.

"I'm really staring to tire of this holier-then-thou attitude of yours, you know that?"

Kratos sharply turned his head.

"Allow me to make things clear missy…." He started.

"First of all, you're not in a position to give me commands. Secondly, I didn't save you to be yelled at, and finally, what happened back there was a big mistake. The sooner we get to Luin the better…"

Anna gave him a disappointed look before she closed her eyes and started running…

Running from the man who had just torn the last piece of her heart.

Suddenly she stopped. She just…stopped, as if struck by lightening.

Kratos frowned. As he walked up to her, he noticed her eyes almost went completely blank, she didn't even blink, her mouth hung open, but she didn't make a sound.

As Kratos looked up he saw what had hit her so hard.

"…Dear Goddess…" he whispered.

Just in front of them laid the remains of a city that once was referred to as "the city of hope". But right now, all there was left were burning houses, devastated bridges, blood and dead bodies.

"What happened here?.. he asked with a trembling voice as he saw Anna standing in front of a ruined house that looked like it was once used as an inn.

"…This…was my home…" she whispered.

Kratos put his hand on her shoulder as he softly squeezed it.

"This…was all my fault…They attacked the village because of me…" Anna cried, tears rolling down her face.

"Don't say that…" Kratos replied.

" It's not your fault, the Desians would have attacked the city sooner or later…You did what you could to prevent it…"

"How can you say that?" She cried as she turned towards him. "Countless of people have died because of me…I would rather sacrifice myself then to see innocent people become victim of something they're not even directly involved in."

Kratos roughly grabbed her shoulders as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"…Anna, those people didn't become victims because they wanted to…these people had build hope and dreams, and fought to protect it. They fought for the future of this city, as well as the hopes and dreams of those living in constant fear of the Desians. Even when you were taken to the ranch, you still intended to fight for that cause. You did all you could…"

Kratos slightly blushed as Anna fell into his arms, holding him close, crying on his shoulder. His chin brushed against her hair as he gently wrapped his arm around her waist.

"They'll pay for this…I swear…"

Hullo readers! )
Sorry for taking me so long to update, but I'm kinda busy at the moment.
I'm working as fast as I can so please be patient ;
Also, requests and/or suggestions are always more than welcome, as long as it doesn't affact the current storyline, so if you have any ideas, do not hesitate to tell me!

Thanks to all who read and review, teh Celest wufz you all! 3