Chapter 9

(Konnichiwa! Heh, that kinda sounds like Kuchinawa. Sorta. But anyways…Wow. I never thought I'd make it this far. Nine chappies already… -clings to story- This is great. Mree…If only I could write the fics as fast as I plan them. I already have a sequel, a tri-quel, and a fourth book, whatever you call that, planned out. As well as a Kraine fic, but that's beside the point. I need to hurry upppp… Thanks for all the reviews, by the way. Mucho gracias. )

The sun, bright and bold, peeking through the limbs of the trees was what roused the ninja from her sleep the next morning, though the moment it shone into her opening eyes a hand flew up to offer them shade. The first thing she noticed was the lack of rumbling and storming noises… 'The rain must have stopped while we were asleep.' Sheena decided. Her thoughts were pulled back to the persistently-shining sun as her arm grew slightly tired of shielding her eyes. More specifically, the angle the sun had to be at to bother her in such a manner. It was fairly high in the sky, she noticed. 'What time is it?' She questioned, surprised that it was so late. By her calculations, she'd slept in pretty late… It was nearly noon!

The ninja shivered slightly as a breeze swept through their makeshift camp; her clothes were still damp were she had slept on them, and the wind only made the chill worse. The chirping of a bird sounded from a tree nearby, a sound Sheena knew meant that all bad weather had long gone. Sun bathed the area, setting it aglow with color. And, despite herself, Sheena smiled.

"So, the fearless ninja does know how to smile." Sheena whirled around in surprise, for she didn't know he had awoken yet until he spoke. The moment she met his eyes she turned away once more, for the surprise was over and now she was faced with a whole nother day with such comments. However harmless he intended them, such remarks irked the ninja, for Zelos knew just how to push her buttons. He knew just what her weaknesses were, however small, and he exploited them at whim. Though not as much lately… Still, plenty enough to bug Sheena. And the concept of riding another long day on his back didn't seem to appetizing at the moment.

"The reason you didn't heal me when I was first wounded was because you were weak from the fight, correct?" She demanded.

"Yeah… Why?" He responded lazily, his back resting against the tree.

"You're clearly much better now, unless you've got a sword through the leg hidden somewhere in those baggy pants of yours."

"So?" He questioned, still unsure of what she was getting at.

"Heal me now. Even if you can't COMPLETELY fix my side, it'll be enough that I can walk again." She instructed, and Zelos could barely contain his disappointment.

"What was wrong with yesterday? I didn't mind carrying you, if that's what you're worried about."

"You wouldn't." Sheena stated dryly, knowing full well he'd carry her for days on end if it meant he got to be as close as he did the day before. The redhead sighed, and once more raised a hand to her temple.

"First Aid!" He murmured, and at once he felt a large portion of his energy flow from his body and into hers. 'With the amount of energy it took to heal her, her wound must have been deeper than I thought!' The Chosen watched the ninja as she slowly rose, in a manner that showed she half expected the pain to come racing back the moment she made a wrong move. Even when she was fully standing, it took her a moment to trust her body enough to take a step, then another. By the fifth step, Sheena was more at ease, and by the tenth a look of elation had appeared in her eyes. Which, in turn, made Zelos happy for her.

"Alright, let's go!" She declared, her voice considerably lighter now that she could walk on her own two feet.

"Right behind ya!" Zelos replied, gathering his things and packing them back together before turning and catching up to the ninja.

Sheena was happy. No, not happy. More like ecstatic. Having not made any real movement for over 48 hours, she was filled with an energy like never before. The ninja didn't want to walk… No, she wanted to run. To jump, to climb, to dance about. Okay, perhaps craving such things after such little time seems irrational, but not for Sheena. For the ninja valued her freedom more than much of anything else. Freedom to travel wherever her whim would take her, freedom to do what she pleased. Freedom to walk without aid, not confined to the ground by unbearable pain. She kept her energy bridled, however, for she wouldn't dare show such actions in front of another, especially Zelos. It just didn't feel right. Besides, though Altamira's towered silhouette was already visible in the distance, it was far too far away to waste her energy so early in the day's travel.

"Hey Sheena?" Zelos started, and she shook her head slightly, giving him the impression that she'd been in thought. Still though, she turned to him, curiosity showing on her face.

"Yeah?" Prompted the ninja.

"Have you thought about what I said? About true weaknesses?"

"Yeah. I... I know you're right, but I can't just give up what I've grown to believe for twenty-one years." She stated hesitantly. The redhead nodded in understanding. "It's what I live by, in a sense. What do you live by?"

"The Three L's." The Chosen declared matter-of-factly.

"The Three L's? What're they? Liquor, Lust, and Ladies?"

"Close, but no. The Three L's… Live, Laugh, Love." He informed her gleefully. 'Live, Laugh, Love... If only life were that easy.' The ninja wished such a simple philosophy would work for her. But how could she continue to live so easily when all her companions had died? How could she laugh, when all her life she'd been prized for her seriousness and maturity? How could she love, when the one she might truly want to be with was never meant to be?

"Easier to remember than mine, I'll give you that much." She stated with a half-hearted chuckle. He beamed, perhaps thinking he'd surprised her with a philosophy that didn't involve getting laid every five minutes. He had, though only a little. She was getting more and more used to the tolerable Zelos these days… And, of course, this is where the 'right on cue' streak returns.

"Though 'liquor, lust, and ladies' is pretty good too. I think I'll take that one instead." He grinned, earning him a smack on the cheek. Leave it to Zelos to ruin yet another peaceful moment. It didn't surprise Sheena, that he was still focused on his many woman admirers, but what DID surprise her was how it had slightly disappointed her. 'Why do I care? He's just a philanderer, a pervert, and an ass.' She fumed, though only in her mind. "Care to help me put my new philosophy into action?"

"Go get one of your floozies to do it!" She snapped, shutting the Chosen up straight away. 'I was only joking... How was I supposed to know she'd get all pissy?' He mentally whined, in an attempt to deny the disappointment that came with knowing he blew it once again. Eventually that disappointment came, however, and for a majority of the way to Altamira he shuffled along and sulked. In case you haven't seen Zelos sulk, I must say it's quite a funny sight. It's not just walking in a sad fashion… It's dramatic, like everything else that has to do with the redhead. So the redhead sulked quite visibly for most of the day. Which irked Sheena even more, for she thought he was sulking because she'd declined, because he didn't get his way, not because of his tendency to screw things up.

Once again, silence washed over the travelers… And once again, Zelos managed not to disrupt it. 'I wonder when she's just gonna get sick of me and leave? It's bound to happen sometime.' He thought sullenly, for already he'd grown accustomed to her presence, to the second set of footsteps as he traveled, to the soft breaths of another nearby as he fell asleep. It would feel so weird without having her there... But the way he kept pissing her off, she wasn't going to travel with him much longer.

'Why do I get all worked up when he makes even such idiotic and stupid jokes as that? I should be used to it by now...' The ninja scolded herself, though immediately another voice popped into her head. 'You liiiike me.' The teasing yet carefree voice of the Chosen was what came in response to her question. In reflex, she sent a fierce glare his way, but managed to stifle it as she realized that the voice was only in her head. Still, he had seen it, and averted his gaze to the ocean far to their left. For a moment, Sheena felt bad for glaring at him, for he hadn't done anything to deserve it. But there was nothing she could do now, so her attention was brought back to the voice, who was chanting it's three favorite words over and over in her head. 'SHUT UP!' She screamed at the voice, and it fell silent. 'I don't like him. I can't. He's a stubborn, perverted, philanderer who couldn't keep his hands and eyes to himself if his life depended on it. Besides, he doesn't like me like that.' After a pause, the voice returned. 'How do you know?' Flustered slightly, she thought a response. 'Because he treats me like one of his idiot 'hunnies'. If he did like me, he'd treat me better than that.' She protested indignantly. 'Maybe that's the only way I know how to treat women.' For a moment, the ninja seriously pondered this. 'I'm done discussing this. Heh, I must be insane, I'm talking to myself and myself is answering.' But the voice never came again. Not once. And Sheena found it was slightly lonely without it.

"Altamira." Zelos broke the silence, gesturing toward the city whose gate the pair stood just outside. The summoner jolted from her thoughts, and upon realizing they'd arrived, she nodded slightly. The voice had made some sense, but not enough to push her anger away altogether. They entered the city together, and it took a moment for the ninja to soak in all the extravagant colors that for a little over a week she'd been without out in the wilderness.

"Hotel?" This time it was her who offered a bit of speech, and he who merely nodded. They soon had entered the lobby of the hotel, though not without resentment and glares from the other customers, for their clothes weren't in the best of shape after so much action as of late. Sheena strode up to the short, brunette man behind the counter. "Two rooms, please." The man glanced down at the book before him on the counter.

"I apologize, miss. There's only one room left. The amusement park just re-opened, and business is booming." He replied. The feeling Sheena experienced next was so conflicting it nearly made her nauseous. Never before had she felt such dread and such joy at the same time, or even at separate times. For a moment, she was dizzy, but the ninja managed to steady herself before anyone noticed. Anyone but Zelos, that is, but she'd deal with him later.

"We'll take it." She replied, much more confidently then she felt, and her words sent a look of surprise across Zelos's face. She chose to ignore it, however, waiting somewhat impatiently for the man to hurry with his scribblings and give them the key already. At last, he reached beneath the counter, there was a sound that resembled metal against wood, and a key was thrust into her waiting hand. Sheena nodded a thank you before striding to the elevator, Zelos following close. She leaned against the glass wall of the elevator, resting the back of her head on it's cool surface and closing her eyes. The dizziness had mostly faded, yet she was left with this feeling of dread and joy which she was still unable to comprehend. She felt a hesitant hand on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to find Zelos watching her concernedly. She shook her head, denying that anything was wrong. The hand was removed, though he seemed unsure if she was truly okay, for she had a tendency to lie about such things. She paid no mind to this uncertainty, however, for the ninja wasn't in the mood to waste words. Soon, the elevator lurched to a stop at their floor, and the pair stepped off into a hallway. There were many rooms on each side, and one at the very end. Sheena looked at the number on her key. 100. It looked to her like they had the end room.

Zelos, meanwhile, had no idea where they were going, aside from the fact that one of these rooms was theirs for the night. It could be any one of the seemingly endless rooms. So he just followed Sheena. Past what seemed like hundreds of doors the pair walked before they reached the very end of the hall. Room 100. He watched Sheena slip the key into the lock, and soon the door swung open. And they beheld the room which would house them for at least the night.

It was better than Sheena had expected… Though she was expecting the usual room, not one from Altamira's grand hotel. It was fairly well decorated, and pleasing to the eye. But that's not what she noticed first. 'There's only one bed.' She realized with dread. And the ninja did not by any means intend to sleep on the floor. The first thing she did was plant herself firmly on the foot of the bed, as if marking her territory.

"What's that look for? You don't expect me to sleep on the floor, do you?" Zelos questioned in a voice that bordered a whine.

"There's only one bed." Stated the ninja, as if that fact alone could change his mind.

"But can't we share it?" He offered his idea, and the ninja's eyes went wide with surprise and disbelief. She raised a hand to smack him, but decided against it and stormed off into the bathroom.

'Now... I can either claim the bed now while she's in the bathroom, presumably showering, or I can let her have it.' The first option ensured him the best sleep he'd had in weeks, a soft bed, and absolutely no stiffness in the morning. The second option… the second option ensured his survival through the night. 'I choose floor.' He hastily decided. Cerulean eyes looked upon the hard floor with distaste. Even the dirt outside appeared more comfortable, and most nights the dirt was near freezing. Snatching a pillow from the bed and a blanket folded at it's foot, the redhead laid the blanket out so he had at least SOME padding between himself and the unyielding wood of the floorboards. He placed the pillow at the head of the blankets and laid down to test out his handiwork. 'Not the best,' Zelos grimaced, 'But not the worst either.'

Meanwhile, Sheena was washing more than dirt and sweat from her body as she washed herself in the shower. She was washing away all the tension and stress that the journey and Zelos had caused. For the first time since her quest for retribution had began, she was alone. 'No... It can't be the first time.' She thought reasonably. 'Come to think of it... I can't think of any time I have been away from Zelos, not recently. Wow, I've managed an entire week of that idiot Chosen nonstop, and I haven't strangled him yet.' Her thoughts returned to the bed she'd claimed as the young woman heard shuffling outside the bathroom door. 'Though there's a first time for everything.' All the while, she continued to work on the puzzle that had troubled her since she'd entered the hotel. What was that feeling she felt? The feeling of great dread, yet immense joy at the same time? 'This is only an idea, but maybe... Maybe I don't want to stay in the same room as him because he's still an idiotic pervert, but I am glad I have to because... Because it's been weeks since I've been alone, and I no longer know what true silence sounds like.' This was true. Every day, she'd heard his steady footsteps close by, or him shifting around by the fire, and every night she'd fallen asleep to the sound of his breathing. Before this journey, there was nearly nothing but silence. And now, silence was as foreign to her as wielding a sword. What surprised her most was that she liked it that way.

When the ninja emerged from the bathroom, fully robed with a light lime-green towel wrapped around her wet hair like a turban, she was surprised to find the Chosen already asleep on the floor. 'It's been a long day... Hell, it's been a long week...' She decided this was the cause of his early slumber, and tiptoed around his sleeping form to get to her own bed. She sat on it's foot, removing the towel and gently brushing out her fair length ebony hair. She brushed and brushed until it was dry, and only then did she allow herself to relax, for if she laid down with it still wet it would be impossible to deal with the following day. Crawling beneath the sheets and comforters of the amazingly soft double bed, Sheena sighed in contentment. It had been far too long since she'd lain in something so soft as that bed, and she was relishing it to the fullest. Even before the moonlight rose over the horizon, she too had fallen asleep, days of fatigue catching up on her. Too bad this was too good to last.

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She stood before the wreckage of her village once more, yet this time Kage and many other faceless men were still on the scene, setting fire and slaughtering her kin.

"No!" She cried out, her voice filled with anguish and desperation in hopes that she could change what was to come. Though it was near impossible, Sheena still clung to the miniscule hope that she could change things, save her village. None of the bandits heard her. She watched in horror as they sliced and stabbed her comrades, a cry of pain escaping each one. A cry of disappointment, of failure. 'You failed us, Sheena...' each one seemed to say. It seemed numberless, the amount of times she heard that cry, though with different voice each time. She watched the slaughter of each and every last ninja, her eyes vacant with grief and revulsion. Then, one by one, the men turned to her. Kage and his men slowly closed in on the summoner, and she backed away, yet something caught her foot. She was falling once more...

Sheena's eyes snapped open after feeling a harsh thud against her body. A gasp escaped her lips, though relief overwhelmed her to find it had all been some sort of dream – yet so real a dream that even in awakening it haunted her. It did not take her long to realize she had fallen on the floor... and right beside Zelos who lay sleeping next to her. Fortunately he must have turned in his sleep away from the edge of her bed, so instead of falling on top of him, which would have been embarrassing beyond measure, she fell next to him on the blanket.

In frenzy, Sheena attempted to silently sneak her way back into her bed, but before she could move Zelos turned on his stomach in his sleep and rested his arm over her, trapping her in place. She lay still, daring not to move or barely even to breathe, realizing if she pushed him away she would wake him up and would have to explain herself – and she would have a lot of explaining to do. As a result, she waited patiently for him to remove his arm from across her chest, especially since it was awkwardly placed over her bosom. However, much to her dismay, Zelos only moved closer to her in his sleep and didn't seem disturbed by her presence in the least. His head rested so close to hers that when he turned it sideways in her direction she could feel his hot breath lick at her cheeks.

Sheena hoped he wasn't actually awake and knowing she was lying next to him, because if she found out he was and he purposely put his arm in the place it was currently in, she would make him painfully regret it. Her patience was wearing thin, but she was desperate not to have him find out she fell out of bed and almost on top of him, and knowing Zelos he would never let her hear the end of it. Minutes passed, turning from ten into twenty, until Zelos shifted restlessly in his sleep once more. Suddenly he moved from lying on his stomach to lying on his side facing her, though his arm did not remove itself from her chest, instead it seemed to pull her toward him in his sleep.

Finally, Sheena had enough. She would not lie there all night beside Zelos, she didn't want to have to wake up the next morning and answer to his gloating face about why he found her sleeping there that night. Although she couldn't see it, she had a feeling Zelos was smirking at her in the darkness and that he was completely aware of her presence next to him. In anger, Sheena sat up and shoved his arm off of her chest, and in response was Zelos's cry of surprise that sounded in the darkness while the ninja got to her feet and spat furiously.

"Zelos! You were awake the whole time weren't you, you pervert!"

In response, Zelos sat up, wide eyed, as she climbed into her own bed and threw the covers over her, flustered beyond measurement at being caught in such an awkward position. The summoner turned to lie facing away from him, a hint of red slowly creeping into her cheeks.

Meanwhile, the Chosen blinked around in sleep-aided confusion. What was Sheena mad about? And why had she been down on the floor when he had awoken? 'This time, whatever I did wasn't my fault. I can't control it if I sleep-grope or anything like that, so she can't blame me.' Yet obviously she did, so with a sigh of resignation, the Chosen laid back down, turned to face away from the bed, and fell back asleep.

(Hehe. Thanks for all the reviews! Remember that action I promised you? It comes in the next chapter. Or it STARTS in the next chapter. So... yeah. Review more! lol)