Live, Love, Fight and Die
Zelos was glad to be back home. They had met no trouble on the way to Meltokio, and it was almost sunset of the seventh day since their departure. But no matter how happy he was to be back home, he was worried. Some unknown evil threatened his world, some of his friends were a world apart, and Lloyd was traveling with someone who had tried to kill them. More than that, however, Zelos was worried about what he would find in the forgotten volumes about the Lich. Would reading the tomes only further seal their fate? He sighed.
The Pope and the King were thrilled to learn of Zelos' return, and he was back in his room. He wondered what they would say when he demanded access to Forbidden Tomes.
Zelos got up and left his room. He walked down the hallway to Sheena's room and knocked.
"Come in," Sheena called. Zelos walked in, and his eyes immediately ran to Sheena's chest, like they had for the past few years.
Sheena rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Zelos?" she asked irritably.
Zelos pulled his eyes away from her midsection (with difficulty) and walked over to her. "Hey there."
"Zelos, what do you want?" she repeated.
"Can I sit down?" he asked.
"Whatever just hurry it up!"
Zelos nodded and sat down. "Sheena…" he didn't really know how to word it. "Uh… I'm not sure if we're going to make it out of this alive," he began. "And I wanted to ask you something."
"No!" Sheena roared.
"No it's not that, by the goddess, I don't think wishes come true!" Zelos answered.
"Then what did you want to ask me?" Sheena asked impatiently.
"If I could do this," Zelos got up and bent down to Sheena and kissed her passionately. At first she struggled, but then she stopped. After awhile Zelos figured she must have realized what was happening.
Sheena put her hands on Zelos' chest and shoved him away, wiping her lips. "Get out Zelos! You pervert, I'm not an idiot I know what you were going to do!"
"I swear Sheena I wasn't," Zelos grinned as he thought about it… it was a pretty good idea actually. (A/N: I would say what Sheena thought Zelos was thinking, but then this story would have to be rated differently, so if you know Zelos well enough you can imagine what Sheena thought his plan was.)
"Then why the hell did you do that?" the ninja demanded.
"Because… because… I love you," Zelos said. "And I wanted to ask you if you loved me too."
Zelos could tell she was struggling to stop her jaw from dropping. Finally, she stuttered: "Oh…well… I never really knew… I always just thought…"
"Yeah, I know," Zelos turned around to leave.
"Wait, Zelos!" Sheena called.
Zelos turned around. "You never let on to it more than your lust, but you do that to every girl you see," Sheena explained.
"Not to Raine or Presea," he pointed out.
"'Cause Raine'll put some herb on you that'll make you go to sleep forever and Presea would behead you," they both laughed at this. "So I always just did what most other girls do to you, slap you, kick you and shout at you."
"Yeah, you don't really feel the pain after the first few hundred…"
"But the truth is, I always hid how I felt about you because I never thought you liked me for anything more than my body," they were getting closer together. "Zelos, I love you.
"Let me tell you something my father told me a long time ago," Sheena said. "'We are all put on this earth for a different cause. Some of us are meant to fight, some to heal, some to cook, some to destroy, but all of us are put on this earth for the same reason. We are to live. We are to love. We are to die. Do not let life pass you by as you become absorbed in your studies as a ninja. No matter strong you become, it means nothing if you have no one to share it with. But at the same time, do not abandon your work to look for love. When the time is right, love will look for you.' He always used to tell me that and I always thought he was lying…"
"But he wasn't, was he?" Zelos asked.
"No, he was right because when we started to get to each other better, I realized that deep down in my heart, love had found me," she answered. "Zelos, I love you," she repeated.
"Sheena, I love you too."
Back in Sylvarant, the five travelers had stopped at the Palmacoasta House of Salvation. It was their sixth day of traveling, and Genis was distressed at how slowly the Rheairds were moving, but when he examined them, there seemed to be nothing wrong.
He was in his room at the House of Salvation reading a book he had brought along called Birth and Rebirth: An Encyclopedia of the Chosen's Through the Ages and was reading about Colette. "Her accomplices include the short half-elf Genas (minor)," he read. "Minor!" he cried. "They didn't even spell my name right!" he shut the book just as a knock came from the door. "Come in," he called. The door slid open and Lloyd walked in.
"Hey buddy, whatcha reading?" Lloyd asked.
"Oh, just a book about the Chosen. Would you believe they called me minor!" he cried.
"What a shame…" Lloyd said absentmindedly. "Well you are kinda short…"
"It doesn't mean I'm short Lloyd!" Genis pouted.
"Oh, right. Hey buddy, I didn't come here just to talk to you about a book, I hate books. I wanted to ask you if everything's alright," Lloyd said.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be? I mean this journey is nothing compared to the Regeneration… so far anyway," Genis trailed off.
"I'm not talking about that," Lloyd looked at Genis closely.
"Oh, you mean Presea?" Genis asked.
"Yeah, I mean Presea," Lloyd answered.
Genis sighed and flicked his hand at the door; there was a short gust of wind and it shut. "I dunno Lloyd. I just… I just can't stop thinking about her. Even when I'm trying to concentrate on something else my mind always wanders back to her."
"I know how you feel," Lloyd said.
"Colette?"
"What, oh no! Colette is… she's my friend, that's all," Lloyd replied.
"Right, Lloyd, everyone can see you like Colette," Genis laughed. "Her name is the only word you can spell after all!"
"I can spell my name, too!" Lloyd shot. "And yours and Raine's. I'm the one who told the guy who added the article to that book how to spell your name."
"Good job," Genis answered dryly.
"But about Presea. If you like her you should tell her, of course the whole world knows so, hehe I'm not really helping am I?" Lloyd chuckled.
"I dunno, Presea just ignores me. And she always seems so… mechanical." But really, Genis didn't care. Presea had grown a lot now that she had started ageing again. She was taller and she let her hair flow like a waterfall instead of in ponytails. Her face was just as beautiful and her eyes were just as emerald. Genis had grown, too. He had shot up a few feet and had lost his childish look. His shoulders were a bit broader, now, but he was still pretty skinny compared to Lloyd, who had become very muscular in the five years.
"Well, whatever buddy, but if you like Presea you should do something. Just don't take lessons from Zelos… if we ever see Zelos again," Lloyd looked down.
"What do you mean?"
"I dunno. I mean, what could make my dad leave Derris-Kharlan? And what could beat him up that bad?"
"Badly, but whatever," Genis cut in.
"Yeah, whatever. I mean, my dad's one of the strongest people I know," Lloyd finished. "And somehow I get the feeling that even though we're on the same world as that Lich thing, Raine and the others are in more danger."
"Yeah, sometimes I get the same feeling. But I trust my sister; she's going to live. But what can we do? We all live, we all love, we all fight, and eventually… we all die," Genis said.
"Yeah…" Lloyd said. "Well I'm gonna go. Good night buddy."
"G'night Lloyd," Genis said, and as he fell asleep, all he could think about was Presea.