Chapter 10
(Whee. Half doooone. Whoot. Whoot whoot. Okay, enough celebrating. Prepare for the uber fluffy beginning and actionish ending of Chapter 10! Mwahaha. )
When Zelos awoke, the ninja was nowhere in sight. After a moment's panic-- 'Maybe she did leave me.'-- he heard a faint whooshing sound from the bathroom. Heaving a sigh of relief, he realized she must merely be washing up and such. Sure enough, the ninja soon emerged from said bathroom, her hair back in a slick bun and her robe freshly washed. She didn't even glance his way on the way by, though… No, instead she headed straight for the nightstand by her bed, where she'd kept her belongings. The redhead rose, sitting on the bed opposite of her.
"Sheena? What's wrong? You've been acting so weird lately…" He asked. His only reply was silence.
She ceased to rummage in her things at Zelos's voice. 'If only you knew, Zelos. If only you knew how hard it is not to like you, even though you are a pervert and an idiot at times. If only you knew that every time you do something nice for me, or say something kind to me, it just makes it worse. And if only I had the guts to tell you... But I can't love you. I can't. To love... To love is to give someone the ability to break your heart, and to trust them not to. My ability to trust, to truly trust... That left me long ago.' For that reason, she didn't answer the Chosen's question. She couldn't, not without spilling her entire thought process along the way.
Zelos turned his back on the ninja and sighed in defeat. He'd waited nearly two minutes for a reply, yet she hadn't even turned to face him. 'I guess it's over, then? If she won't even talk to me, how are we going to continue to journey together?' His cerulean gaze rested on the quilt blanket just beside where he sat as he wondered how things went so wrong. 'I think I'll truly miss her...' He realized, for all the other females he'd associated with had been one-night flings or something else along those lines. Sheena, though… She was different.
The ninja heard his sigh and the extreme sadness and disappointment it held. She cocked her head slightly. Is it possible that… he truly did care? No, it couldn't be. He treated her like one of his floozies. But perhaps that voice that had tormented her showering was right. Perhaps he truly knew no other way to treat her. Come to think of it, he did seem to at least try to be nice… She turned and peeked over her shoulder. He seemed so… dejected. And Sheena felt bad for him. An impulse came to her, though for the first time it acted before the summoner could push it away. Rising, she turned and crawled across the bed, coming up behind Zelos and wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug. This not only surprised the redhead, but it surprised herself. It was too late to change her mind, however, so she stayed. She could feel he was tense, unsure of what she was going to do. Unsure of if she was going to slap him, or just continue hugging him. With her record, the latter was unlikely. Yet as the hug continued and Sheena made no move to cause him pain, Zelos eventually relaxed and just enjoyed the hug, curious as to why he was receiving it yet not willing to question his good fortune and voice his query.
Sheena felt him relax at last, and this drew a smile to her lips. She brought her head up to his shoulder.
"Tell a soul of this, and I'll kill you." She murmured, and he nodded, unsure of whether that threat was to be taken literally and unwilling to take that risk. The redhead brought his hand up and rested it on hers, relieved beyond words that she didn't hate him as he'd thought. And overjoyed that she might like him more than he'd known... Suddenly, a feeling came over him that he hadn't felt in quite a while. 'She deserves to know...'
"Sheena, I-…" he started, but his voice was interrupted by the turning of the doorknob and the opening of the door. There stood Lloyd Irving, a look of shock on his face. Sheena immediately drew away, unable to meet the brunette's gaze, a blush tinting her cheeks.
Lloyd gazed at the two a moment. 'Was she just-… Did I just see Sheena hugging Zelos?' He wondered incredulously. After a moment, he shook his head slightly. 'No, she must have been trying to strangle him or something. She does that a lot.' Before he could say anything more, he was grabbed by the wrist and practically dragged from Room 100 by a flustered-looking Sheena. When the two were in the elevator, she finally let go, directing it to the third floor, the restaurant.
"I was visiting Regal for a couple of days, and I heard you two were in town." He started, attempting to draw the attention away from what he'd just witnessed, for Sheena's sake.
"Yeah, we've only been here since yesterday though." She confirmed. The elevator slid to a stop and made a brief dinging sound, then the door slid open to reveal a well-decorated restaurant. Sheena stepped into the room, and Lloyd followed close behind, taking in the overall expensive look of the place with wide eyes. A waiter in traditional waiter apparel strode over to the two newest customers, nodding and offering a respectful look.
"Table for two?" He questioned, and the duo nodded. The waiter proceeded to lead them through the maze of tables and chairs to a smaller table along the window. They each took a seat, and the waiter opened up a flip book to write down their order.
"Just water for me, thanks." Sheena declined, followed by a 'Same here.' from Lloyd. The waiter wrinkled his nose slightly, for water was complimentary, which means these two would be occupying a table that a paying customer might need. Still, he nodded once more and waddled off into the kitchen to get their drinks.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing with Zelos of all people?" The brunette questioned, for when the journey had ended, Sheena had claimed she'd rather have her throat slit then ever see him again. Of course, that was right after he let his perverted side show through, and even LLOYD was slightly eager to be rid of him.
"Mizuho… It-…" Sheena couldn't find the words to voice what had happened to her village. "Mizuho is destroyed. Demolished. As of two weeks ago, I am the last of my kind." She stated, as loud as she trusted her voice not to betray the grief once more welling up inside her. Lloyd's eyes went wide once more. Then they narrowed in the determined way they always did when he'd found a new cause to strive for.
"Who did it? Give me a name, and they'll be dead before the day is over." He growled. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, harms Lloyd Irving's friends and gets away with it.
"No." Sheena quickly objected, loud enough to draw a few stares to their table. Both the ninja and the swordsman looked around uncomfortably a moment, until all the gazes had turned away. Softer was her speech this time. "No. You can't. This man… He has power unseen in any human. He overpowered me easily, and he nearly killed Zelos. I don't want you to get hurt too."
"But-" Lloyd started to object, but the look on Sheena's face silenced him.
"Promise me you won't get involved, Lloyd." She demanded. He stared at her defiantly, refusing to make such a promise. "Promise me, or I'll tell you nothing." After a moment, he sighed.
"Fine, I promise. Now who did this?" He questioned once more. 'Leave it to Lloyd to let curiosity get the better of him.'
"His name is Kage. He's the leader of some sort of band of rouges, and he's incredibly strong for a human, though he bears no elven or even half-elven ears. He has people all over. Sybak, Meltokio, even here in Altamira. We're on a journey to find and defeat him, to avenge my people." She explained. Lloyd blinked, comprehending all the information that was suddenly thrown his way.
"And Zelos is with you why?" He questioned, for she had failed to explain that part. Sheena shrugged.
"He just kinda showed up." She stated nonchalantly. Lloyd blinked again, somewhat surprised at what he was hearing.
"And for some reason you didn't chase him away with Undine like you did last time?" Prompted the brunette.
"It's not like I didn't try." She argued defensively. "He's near impossible to get rid of." The swordsman still wasn't too sure, but he took what she gave him.
"So what brings you to Altamira?" He attempted to change the subject.
"We heard that-" The summoner started, but was interrupting by an ear-piercing scream from below. Sheena looked out the window, but the angle was wrong and all she saw were people racing frantically to the left. She leapt from her seat, dashing over to the opposite window just in time to hear a familiar yell of anger and pain. Just in time to see a familiar redhead locked in battle with a familiar muscular adversary. The ninja gasped in surprise. "Zelos!"
(Ooooh the action begins. Yes, Sheena really did hug Zelos. And no, I don't find that out of character at all. I'm dumb that way. Heh. I know this was short, but you all want action, and I had to get this out of the way first.)