FanFiction: Reflections on the Pool: Time Lost, Time Gained
Rated: R, dummy w
By: Ran-Chan
Category/Genre: Game/Tales of Symphonia. Every Genre. Mostly romance and adventure!
Notes: Rated for adult stuff. You know, drinking, cursing, sex, and that whole idea. This is another chapter of the 'Tales of Love' series, starring Kratos and Memoria. Heh heh. Yeah, whatever...
Authoress Rantings: I'm going to say something very rude. If you like me, you might not want to read this. However, if you don't like me, I don't care what the hell you do... You are allowed to flame, as in my home country, we have free speech, so flame away. However, that won't change what I do, because it's not just you, but also me that has the free speech. I'm going to write, and you're going to have your opinion. And hey, we agree to disagree, right? Thank you... sorry, politicians are dominating life these days, so I'm just going to say... I don't give a flip if you don't like the couple. I don't give a flip if you think Kratos is gay, which he isn't. And I really don't give a FUCK (yes I said it) if you believe that Kratos belongs with Raine or any other character which isn't Anna. Anna and Kratos, yes... I know. Let's just say this fic is wishful thinking. Nothing wrong with that. I don't go and flame you for writing your KratosXOC hentai lemon fic, now do I? Noooo, not because it's about those two. If your writing skills weren't so crappy, you wouldn't be in the position to get flamed! I don't go and write Square for making FFX-2 when Yuna should have married Baralai and left it closed after the stupid movie inbetween, did I! NO! Okay, I feel better, that's off my chest, and I'm a much happier person. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, it's characters, places or stuff in it. YAY. Those that are mine are mine, and that's the truth. Oh, and I'm sorry but Squaresoft owns Celes' Song, so yeah... I'm borrowing the lyrics. I SAID BORROW, YOU TURD. BORROW.
Summary: ToL update! After Yuan joined Kratos and Memoria, hangovers consume the average adventurer.Strange events turn to reflections, and of course, love makes bad things go away. Enjoy. R+R!
Tales of Love
Chapter Four
"Reflections by the Pool: Time Lost, Time Gained"
Morning was usually a time of smiles, happiness, and good morning kisses for Ran-Chan. Well, she had been acustomed to it in just three days, so it might as well have been rutine! However, if this morning had been painted prior to her awakening, it was all ready a murky, gross green color. The color of whatever it was she threw up out the window which landed out to fertilize some palm trees had taken over the entire day. She was, needless to say, incredibly sick.
Kratos slept for about five hours the entire night before. It was enough to be alive, for one that had not slept in centuries, but he was delighted to be able to be woken out of a sleep he was never able to enjoy for a while. Since he leaned up against the wall as she leaned up on him, he was able to comfort her enough and rest himself enough at the same time. A happy compromise!
Just a few hours ago, Yuan was able to fall asleep after he and Kratos talked up a storm. He seemed entirely able to sleep through Ran-Chan's muffling. He slept in the other bed, curled up in a blanket with his blue hair in a very freaky mess.
"Ran-Chan," Kratos whispered softly. "Any better?" He felt her face, finding it to be warmer than usual. "You do feel sick..."
She nodded, rubbing her face on his stomach to feel him closer to her. "Most likely," she grunted. "I drank too much, holding up our journey more..." Her voice was quiet enough that it didn't wake Yuan. She wouldn't have been surprised if he was going to sleep for a few hundred years. She thought about it and realized that she didn't know how mortal long half elves were to live. She did know, however, that humans lived a lot less than those of her kind. "Kratos-sama," she said, "I need to ask you a simple question."
"If it's about affection, it can wait," he said, teasing her. "Ask me..."
"Are you a full blooded human?" she asked.
Kratos was confused. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, trying to catch a glance at her face, but she turned away in shame.
"Answer, please..." Ran-Chan begged her love to do as she asked.
Her request was answered with "Yes, dearest, I'm completely human." He still didn't understand until he saw the look on her face that moment. "...but that doesn't mean anything. We will be happy for a long time you and I. You're 23, I'm 28..."
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about it, which only made the thoughts worse. "And you will be gone many years before me," Ran-Chan replied sourly. "My years are measured on the Kharlan Calendar, I'm not actually 23 in human years... I'm probably still a teenager..."
"That's why you are so dramatic," Kratos reasoned aloud. "I always thought it was to amplify your presance more." He laughed then leaned forward a bit to ruffle her hair. "Listen to me. I don't care of your age, I don't mind your mental imbalance, and I don't see how any of that matters. I love you. That's the truth. What else do you need?" He asked her quietly.
Ran-Chan's eyes made in the direction of his. Her look was very serious. Her eyes appeared to be starving for something not given yet, something that she never had from anyone except her little brother. No one could have guessed how close Yoshio and Ran-Chan were besides herself, it was rather apparent that she didn't talk about him much. "Love, company, and peace I have all ready," she answered. "There is something not even the greatest lover can provide for a broken heart. No matter how hard you try to guess it, you'll never be able to see exactly what I'm missing. After all, you aren't the closest to my soul." With that she laughed. She craved his love for years, wanting him to be the closest that she could ever dream of. Sadly, it seemed that only dead people could be the closest. Even the man who participated in the half-elf hunt whom she admired greatly, her father, was closer to her than Kratos. "I don't think you ever can be," she reasoned aloud, "Because... we aren't really family."
The thought didn't bother Kratos. He was amazed to hear her talk about how he wasn't the closest person to her, when that's all the wanted for so many years. He kept thinking he was a let down until the girl sat up and turned to face him a bit more passionately than usual.
"Don't worry, though," she whispered. "That doesn't make you a failure to me. I love you, Kratos-sama. I love you so much. I love you more than anyone I've ever loved in my entire life..." Ran-Chan came closer than she was before, then approached him and kissed him on the nose. "I always will love you. Even if you leave me behind, even if you die and pass on to be with Anna... I don't blame you. It's just that when I get to see you again after we left the mortal life behind... will I be able to see you with her again, after you and I..." She snatched his shoulder and pushed him down. "After you and I-"
Kratos touched the side of her face gently. "No, don't be like that," he said. "No." He pushed back up and flopped her body under his. "I will love you in Heaven," he added, feeling his eyes swell up with tears. "I will! ...why do you doubt me?"
Ran-Chan felt his tears fall on her face, adding to her own. "Don't cry," she begged. "I don't want to see you sad..." His skin was warm and soft, his hair fluffy and it's usual spikey self. She pulled him closer, noticing that he had not shed a tear until then. She had never seen him actually sad before, and she realized what she had to do. "Wait... I know... Kratos-sama, listen... It's time to let it go. All of it. Let it go. Cry with all your might, because you must."
Kratos fell on top of her, feeling thousands of years of sadness flow from his eyes. With his eyes closed, he saw Anna waiting for him. He sobbed for a while until he feel asleep in the position he had been in prior to.
"My, my," Anna said sweetly. "It's Kratos! It's been a very long time, hasn't it?" She embraced around him, noticing tears had swept across his face. "You... you cried...! That means, you're back to normal. Hmm, well, I thank that young woman from the bottom of my heart. She loves you quite truely. I've never seen anything like it before in my entire existance," she added, letting go. "I had my chance. Fufill that young woman's dreams, Kratos. She needs you as much as you need her."
Kratos just laughed quietly. "Anna, you are sweet. Both you and Memoria will let me choose which of you that I want to love, and I can't do that. If I pick you, she'll be lonely, and vice versa..." he said.
Anna stood up straight and slapped him lightly on the face. "Be an adult," she said. "Make your own decisions. But just incase you can't... I'll meet someone in Heaven which will make my eyes sparkle. Trust me, there are a lot of wonderful guys in Heaven. None of them are you, but you aren't mine anymore. Listen, Kratos, be free. If not for her happiness... and not for yours, think of it as our last parting gift." She started to turn away, but Kratos reached for her shoulder to turn her around.
"Anna," he said, feeling tears well up again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... All the things I could have done differently, but I couldn't think of another path... all of those days we couldn't settle down with Lloyd... I failed as a father, a husband, and a lover to you... I dragged you into this until the very end..."
"Kratos, I forgive you! Don't cry to me, dear. She's waiting for you, and I... I have to go now. Make her happy. Love her. I know you all ready do." Anna took his hand off of her shoulder and let it fall back to it's owner as she did an about face and vanished. "Goodbye. Kratos."
Kratos replied, "Goodbye, Anna. And... thank you..."
His bright eyes opened to find himself back in the room at the Inn. His heart was much lighter than it was before, and his tears flowed no more for the time being. It seemed that in his dream, he rolled over and fell asleep. In the time of his momentary subcoinciusness, Ran-Chan must have gotten up because she certainly wasn't beside him as she usually would be. Kratos wondered how long he was out of it before he noticed that Yuan was sitting up, awake.
"Yuan?" Kratos asked, scratching the back of his head. "Did you sleep well?"
Yuan nodded. He was still pretty tired, but he shrugged while saying "After so many centuries of not getting sleep, any is pretty good. Oh, Memoria said she'd be gone for a little while, and she's been gone about ten minutes. She also said that it was time for a bit of reflection. I told her not to go out, but she insisted. I thought she'd still be sick." He fell back over and laughed. "That's the reason I stayed awake, she asked me to tell you that message..."
The red head then sat up. "Then go back to sleep, ...lazy bum," he said, joining in the laughter. He put on his shirt and boots, and took the key with him. "I've got the key, so don't go anywhere," he told Yuan as he started out the door.
All Yuan replied was "MMPPH!"
He got the point, so Kratos left the room and with a few stairs to go down and after telling the lady at the desk that they'd be there for another few nights at the most, he slapped down some gald. It wasn't until then that he left the inn and was in the town of Triet to seek out Ran-Chan.
"It'd be stupid to go into every shop in Triet to look for her," he said aloud as he noticed something on the ground which was very familiar. It was the blue ribbon Ran-Chan always had holding her long braid together. It wasn't only important for that, but words were sewn into the silky fabric. "Hmm, 'To my brave sister, who should be more pretty and peaceful instead of powerful and persistant. Happy Sixteenth birthday'," he read the ribbon which was stitched in the Mizuho ancient language, Japanese. "She'd never get rid of this..." he thought aloud.
When Kratos thought about the situation, he didn't think about the fact that he'd never seen Ran-Chan with her hair out of that ridiculously long braid which swung down past her behind. He could pass her and not even know it! Her hair had to be at least down to her knees, if not longer.
Kratos put the ribbon in a pocket and continued looking. She could be sick in a rest room or lost within clothing racks for all he knew. Which, needless to say, was very dangerous. With a trigger happy personality, a sword that never leaves her side, and a very imbalanced emotional state, Kratos even falling asleep with her around was asking for trouble. It's not like he asked for all the trouble in the freaking world, it just happened. And he was glad it did.
When he went by all the shops and saw not a trace of her, he followed a path that led up to the Oasis spring. He remembered seeing it with Lloyd by his side during the Regeneration journey. One thing he found was not in his memories of Triet, but it was very worth seeing.
"Oh my hero," a voice sang with the owner standing with her back to Kratos and peering into the clear lake, "So far away now, will I ever see your smile? Love goes away, like night into day. It's just a fading dream..." Her eyes didn't water and her words did not waver. "I'm the darkness, you're the stars. Our love is brigher than the sun. For eternity, for me there can be only you, my chosen one. Must I forget you? Will autumn take place of spring? Oh... what shall I do, I'm lost without you... speak to me once more!"
"Ran-Chan," Kratos said, watching her turn around. "Don't sing the last verse of the song. I know how it goes."
Ran-Chan blushed. "You waited until that part, didn't you?" she asked loudly, running into his arms. "That's just like you. Always being so straight laced and by the rules."
Kratos laughed, holding her tightly, noticing that her hair was all completely down. It wasn't the looks that was able to tell him that it was Ran-Chan. He could not mistake that voice for anyone else. "Oh, yes," he said, "I never once break any rule... unless," he pulled down her collar and looked down at her chest, "I was to show you true affection right here."
"...you wouldn't!" she said. "Hell, I wouldn't, and I'm rather wild."
"You're saying that I don't have a little fun?" Kratos asked, kissing her cheek. "We can't back at the inn, Yuan is sleeping there." He started to kiss her neck, but she just glared until she was laughing too hard to be angry for it. "So let's be our natural selves, I mean... the dogs are allowed to be affectionate outside."
Ran-Chan's face almost ignited, she was blushing so brightly. "Kratos-sama, I've never heard you talk like that before... What did you do with my Kratos-sama, you imposter?"
"I'm no imposter," Kratos said, laughing. "I found this," he added quietly, taking her blue ribbon from his pocket. He held it out as he asked "It's from your brother isn't it?"
When she saw the ribbon, her face saw a bit of peaceful relevance she hadn't found in quite a while. She thanked him under her breath, then asked "You can read Japanese?" Ran-Chan took the ribbon from him and tied it back on her shoulder. "That's an accomplishment. In the days I couldn't find you, I sought the knowledge of my father's people, and aspired to be a part of the Igaguri clan, even though they'd never let this half-elf join the ranks. I learned his sword style, the Kokoro-Ken Ryu, and studied the art of the master of the katana. My kimono is a symbol of the culture. I realize that I wasn't taking time to be myself anymore, Kratos-sama. I feel asleep shortly after you cried yourself into your dream and you rolled over..."
"Ah, Memoria... I can read Japanese, Elven, Dwarfish, the Angelic Language, and some other things, too," he replied. "Your silver hair is beautiful down."
"It makes for a difficult battle. When my father was alive, the true members of the Igaguri clan never cut their hair. I've also taken up that tradition, to get away from the rules I was raised with... the rules of the Elves of Hiemdall," Ran-Chan explained herself well. She knew everything there was to know about the ninja clan far to the east and how she would fit into it, should she ever become a member of the tribe.
Kratos kissed her cheek again. "So, you say that you weren't yourself? I had never seen your hair not in a braid, even when I first met you in Hiemdall. Even though you should try and be more of yourself, whoever that might be. You can still be a master of your sword, but why don't you..." He started to tug at her sleeveless kimono. "...go with something else for a few thousand years?"
"What does my clothing have to do with my-"
"...your clothing is your mind set, you know. It's not only expression, but it's also... oh, how do I put it..." Kratos was confused. He was a man, and even though he knew that clothing was important, he didn't know how to say things like this. He also thought that Ran-Chan might need a female friend later on to help with these kind of things. "Say, let's go buy you a new outfit."
Ran-Chan stepped away from her love and looked at him strangely. "You have changed," she repeated, "So much that I'm not sure you're the same man I fell in love with..."
"I am," he reassured her. "But I'm rather serious. Since we both need to be in something new, we'll both go."
With that, she coughed for a few moments, than started to laugh. "Kratos-sama!" she said through her insane laughter, "Men usually hate shopping. Are you feeling well? Even though I was in Cruxis for a long time, I still knew what men and women were like. Pronyma and the other girl angels often laughed when I didn't understand, so I had to learn. She never influenced me with her nasty taste, though!"
He remembered the suit that Pronyma always wore and thanked whatever dieties that lived in the world that Ran-Chan never picked up any of those vile fashion tips. "I'm quite glad," he answered, taking her hand. "Shall we?"
The two walked together, noticing that there wasn't many clothing shops in Triet to be found. Infact, except for weaponry, battle supplies, armor, food, and the inn, plus that little bitty hole in the tent that had a few dresses up... there weren't any clothing shops.
"Kratos-sama, I'm thinking it's gonna have to be that one," she said with a smile. "They have fashions for warm weather, so I'll end up buying a coat later on." Her face seemed to be bright, and yet, a little sad. She was grateful that Kratos was going to do this with her, otherwise it would have felt very stupid. "But still."
So they shyly entered the dress shop, noticing a very pretty blonde lady sitting at a table surrounded by dresses and shirts, all so very pretty and new. Neither of them would speak first, as this was the first time they ever had gone to a clothing store before. Ever.
The blonde lady stood up after seeing them. "Hi there! I've never seen you two before," she said. "I'm the only clothing dealer in Triet. It's very nice to meet you, call me Mandi." She hugged them both to greet them, which was entirely too odd for either of them to be hugged by someone other than their love, but they said nothing to offend that hyper, beautiful clothing saleswoman. "Soo I take it that you're both looking for wedding clothing!"
Ran-Chan heaved a sigh. "No, no, no... we're just looking for something very... casual. We're just adventurers, but we'd like to... look like we're not from the... backwoods, you see?" she tried to smile at Mandi, but it came out as a rather embarrassed look.
"Oh, well, that's very cool, too." Mandi replied, "Usually I like to do the fancy stuff though!" She turned around and went back to her desk, opening drawers. "The casual stuff doesn't sell around in these parts, so I usually stuff them in drawers. Sorry!"
Kratos was blushing the entire time. "That's... that's fine..." he said, trying not to be a perv and look at the other lady. "I'm the kind who likes just... simple things. A breathable shirt, nice fitting but not too loose pants... and some nice combat boots."
"With a cape," Ran-Chan filled in. "He's got a cape fetish."
"No, I don't," he snapped. "Well you like hearts, bows, and fluffy things."
"...I'm a girl," she answered back, "and girls are allowed to like hearts, bows, and fluffy things! And we all know you love to wear heart printed boxers... because they're cute on your ass."
Mandi put all of the stuff she dug out of the drawers and placed it a box on the table before the quarreling lovers. "It's nice to hear when you talk to each other, because then I can avoid getting out stuff you'll never wear. Ha ha," she said. She was acting like she didn't hear a thing, because the boxers comment didn't make her laugh as it did the rest of the stores around them. "Well, dig in!"
Ran-Chan reached in, and without looking, pulled out a black thong. "...umm, Mandi... what's this?" she asked, throwing it back at the shopkeeper. "Never mind, don't tell me... I'm not wearing THAT!"
"Hmm," Kratos grunted, sticking his hand in the box. "This reminds me of the crane game..." he added, pulling out a pair of men's kakhi jeans. "These might be my style," he said.
"This isn't the crane game, you can look before you pull it out of the box, you know," Mandi said, irritated. "Have you never been clothes shopping before?" It was amazing that she didn't figure that out until then that her visitors were first timers at the experience.
Kratos slapped his forehead. "It took you THIS LONG to figure it out? How much education do you need to sell clothing anyway? Obviously not enough..." he said, digging through the box, looking this time. "Umm... Ran-Chan?"
Ran-Chan was distracted for the moment by a dress that had been hanging up on the wall the entire time they were bickering about the box. The dress was a blue sleeveless top that came up with a formal collar with a short length with a beautiful dragon embroidered in it. A white belt tied off the center to add accent. It came with a beautiful blue and white celestial coat. The entire ensamble was breathtaking. She loved it.
"Wow, that's pretty nice," Kratos said after examining it. When he reached in the box to find a blue tanktop with a nice heart embriodered in it, he threw it on her face to distract her from seeing. "But I think that more suits you," he added.
After taking it off of her face, Ran-Chan looked at it. He was right! "Give me a blue skirt or something," she said, "One to match this pretty color. Then I'll need a silver sash." When she turned around to see that pretty star coat would match the outfit she had going, she pointed at it. "And I would really like that coat by itself."
"You'd think that this little lady is set once she makes up her mind," Mandi said to Kratos as he was looking for a top for himself, but none of them were fitting to his tastes. "You know, you look like a plain top would do you good. Do you like lilac?" She held out a button short sleeved shirt with a nice collar. "It would look sexy on you."
"...do you have that in white or dark purple?" Ran-Chan asked. "Then it would be perfect."
Kratos looked at Ran-Chan for a moment, whom was obsessing about her newcoming coat. "She's right. White would be best," he said with a smile...
The two were lucky as they walked away with two new outfits a piece for the price of one. One for themselves, and the other for their love's taste in a suitcase that Mandi just insisted that they take. They were making their way back to the inn when Ran-Chan started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Kratos asked.
"You went clothes shopping. You enjoyed yourself. And... Yuan's going to be surprised tomarrow morning!" Ran-Chan answered, hugging around his neck as they walked. "You're such a funny guy, Kratos-sama..."
"Listen, Ran-Chan... need you still call me 'Kratos-sama'? We're not in Cruxis anymore. Hell, we aren't ranked anymore, either. You've always called me by a title from the day I met you," he said. "And you aren't so uptight about giving titles to anyone else. Just me..."
"Kratos-sama," Ran-Chan said, "I respect you way too much. I love you way too much. And it's also a Mizuho type tradition to give people titles. I called Forcystus from the Desians for years 'Forcystus-san' because that's the default title and pretty much I couldn't call him 'sama'. That would be pretty weird."
Kratos stopped her and pulled her face to where he could look into her eyes. "Would you call me by just my name? Please?"
Ran-Chan tried to answer his request, but she was afraid to. Did this mean he wasn't so close to her anymore, or did it mean that he was closer? The thought scared her and she instantly ran back into the inn. Kratos didn't run to catch up to her, after all, that would have seemed a little forceful. Instead of being so forceful, he took his time.
"I guess some things never change," Kratos said quietly when he walked into the inn's doors.
End
Authoress Notes: Ah... I liked writing that chapter. It's okay to deviate from the real storyline and go off on a tangent a bit, plus Yuan's reactions just might stir up a little fun before it starts to get serious again. I'm sorry about updating. It takes me a bit... ha ha ha! Well, I'd better leave you! Tootles!