Chapter 13
(Hehe, not much to say in this chapter's note... Thanks again for all of you who've reviewed, and… yeah, on to the fic I guess.)
The sun rose slowly, silhouetting the buildings of Meltokio in it's radiant glow. Those of the city were slowly starting to awaken, to leave their houses, to fill the streets with their hustle and bustle. But one young woman wasn't among them. If you were to peep into the window of the Chosen's mansion, you'd see a raven-haired ninja, still fast asleep among the soft blankets and the cloudlike mattress of her bed. She'd stay that way for a few hours yet, until the sun's bright rays crept in through her window and shed light upon her face.
Two hazel eyes opened, to immediately be squinted once more at the bright light that had awoken her. A hand flew up to shield her eyes, and they widened once more in the newfound shade. For a moment, the summoner wondered where she was. But then she remembered. 'I'm at Zelos's place...' She recalled. As much as she would have enjoyed falling back asleep in the warm, welcoming embrace of her blankets, the sun wouldn't let her. It intended to keep on shining, no matter what she felt or wanted. Sheena glared it's way, only earning her a moment's blindness in return.
"Alright, alright. I'll get up. Sheesh." She grumbled, sliding her bare feet over the edge of the bed and onto the carpeted door. Slightly plaintive at the loss of her warm bed, the young woman tiptoed down the hall to the bathroom, careful not to wake Zelos. 'If I do, he'll be in here in a heartbeat. That pervert wouldn't miss a peep-show opportunity.' Snatching a towel from the bathroom cupboard and throwing it to hang over the edge of the shower, the ninja stripped off her robe and slowly climbed in. The water was hot, very much so. Sheena could barely suppress a yelp of surprise as she placed a foot into the steady stream. Hastily adjusting the temperature, she cooled it to only moderately warm before stepping in all the way. Only then did she slowly raise the temperature once more, finding a degree that she liked and standing a moment to bask in the warmth. So long she'd bathed in rivers, lakes, and waterfalls, the young woman didn't intend to miss this chance to savor warm water once more. And so she went on with her shower.
A full half hour later, the water snapped off. The towel was slid from over the shower door, and she proceeded to wind it around her form, fitting at the height of a sleeveless top and going down to just above her knees. Her hair hung wet at her shoulders, for she hadn't bothered to bun it quite yet. 'Nobody is gonna see me like this anyways, so does it matter?' She proceeded to tiptoe down the hall, then down the many flights of stairs to ground level once more. If there was one thing she'd needed more than a good shower, it was a good breakfast. Stepping lightly into the kitchen, the ninja reached for the handle to the food pantry.
"Good morning, my voluptuous hunny! Might I say that you're looking especially voluptuous this morning?" That voice froze her in her tracks. Her eyes widened, like a bird in the headlights of a Rhieard. Thank god she was facing the wall, else the redhead would have seen her petrified look. 'I'm in a towel, with my hair down, and Zelos is here to see it. Oh. Shit.' She didn't know why, but having him see her with her hair down was almost as revealing as him seeing her in just the towel. It had always been that way. After a moment of standing there frozen to the spot, she turned slowly to face him.
"How long have you been there?" She asked icily, her arms protectively crossed over her chest, though even if they hadn't been, he couldn't have seen anything anyways.
"All morning!" He replied cheerily, obviously glad to have seen her in less than her usual attire.
"All… morning? What time is it?" She questioned. Surely it wasn't TOO late.
"Nearly eleven!" He replied again, still cheerily. The ninja's eyes widened once more. 'Nearly eleven? That means I slept 'till ten-fifteen!' Never before had she slept so late. Usually her internal clock woke her up at somewhere around six, but not today. 'Stupid internal clock.' She cursed it mentally, before turning back to the food cupboard. Just then, the doorbell rang. With a dance-leap of glee, the redhead raced in to answer it. Soon after, she heard his voice greet, "Why hello, my Ultra Cool Beauty! And my Little Angel! Oh, and the brat too." Sheena gasped slightly and dropped the her bagel back on the table, making haste to the stairs. It was bad enough that Zelos had seen her, she wasn't going to have the whole team coming in on her in a towel with her hair down.
When she returned downstairs once more, fully robed with her hair in the usual messy bun, they were all seated around the table where she had left her bagel, though the half-eaten breakfast was no longer there. Zelos, who was seated on the opposite side of the table as the stairs, saw her first.
"Welcome back, my voluptuous hunny." He beamed, a look that told Sheena that she was the topic of their previous discussions. He shot an 'I told you so' look to Genis, who turned to look at the ninja as well, followed by Raine and Colette.
"Hi, Sheena!" Colette smiled, and the summoner smiled in return.
"Greetings, Sheena. This was the last place we expected to find you." Raine noted, causing a light blush to spread on the young woman's cheeks.
"Honestly, it's the last place I'd have expected to find me too." She stated dryly, before leaning against the kitchen counter what would be between Raine and Colette.
"What brings you here, anyways?" The Professor questioned, and Sheena looked to the redhead in disbelief. He hadn't told them? 'He was probably like 'I've got Sheena half-naked upstairs!' and that's all he told them. Idiot Chosen. I might as well fill them in, right?'
"Mizuho is destroyed. We're after the guy who did it." She droned, for after telling it so many times it was more like a well-rehearsed line. All but the redhead sat in silence with rounded eyes, in shock of what they'd just heard.
"Mizuho? All of it? One guy destroyed it all?" Genis objected in disbelief.
"Well, no, he has men. Lots of men…" Sheena trailed off, shuddering slightly as she remembered what had happened to her arm. Colette placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. The ninja turned to the angel, smiling slightly. Colette had always been there to comfort her when she was sad. Of course, so was Zelos, but in his own strange, idiotic way.
"Lloyd is on his way back to Iselia, Colette. We talked to him the day before yesterday in Altamira." Zelos informed, attempting to lighten the mood. The summoner shot him a grateful glance, and he smiled slightly. Colette smiled as well, though in response to his words, not his purpose behind them.
"Oh really? I can't wait to see him!" She giggled. Raine smiled warmly at her enthusiasm.
"So how've you two been?" The raven-haired young woman asked the Sages.
"Pretty good!" Answered Genis, eager to become part of the conversation. "We live in Sybak now."
"Yes, Lloyd told us. How do you like it?"
"Good, I guess, though I still kinda miss Lloyd and Iselia." Genis looked downcast for a moment, and Sheena nodded knowingly.
"After being together constantly for so long, it's hard for all of us to just split up." She agreed, though only afterward did she notice the second meaning. Her hazel eyes glanced to Zelos, who was looking to her as well. He'd caught it too. After a pause, Zelos slid back his chair.
"Sorry to ruin this lovely reunion, but I have to run to the market for a moment. I need to stock up on ingredients, if I'm going to make a dinner-ah-la-gourmet for my guests." With this, the Chosen rose from his seat, stepping out into the main hall and making a lighthearted play-bow on the way out. Shortly after, they heard the main door open and close. Immediately, three pairs of eyes turned to Sheena.
"You've already explained your reason for being in Meltokio, but never your reason for being here, in Zelos's mansion. When the group parted ways, you were… quite angry with him, to say the least." Raine pried, though in an almost unnoticeable way that only the Professor has managed to perfect.
"Well, I don't exactly know. He showed up when I was just starting my journey, and we've been traveling together ever since." The ninja stated nonchalantly.
"And you just let him come with you?" It was Genis's turn to question her. She turned slightly red.
"It's not like I had a choice. He can get really annoying, when he wants to." Now she was getting defensive.
"And when he doesn't want to." Grumbled Genis, earning him a smack upside the head from his sister.
"He's not that bad!" For some reason, she found herself defending that idiot.
"Calm down, Sheena. We're not trying to blame you for anything, we're just curious." Colette soothed. After a moment, Sheena heaved a deep breath.
"Like I said before: After being together constantly for so long, it's hard for us to split up." She offered, in answer to their first question. "Besides, he's not as perverted as he used to be. I think he's actually trying."
A smirk slowly appeared on the young boy's face.
"You like him." Genis stated, earning a wide-eyed stare from Sheena.
"What! I-… He-… No I don't!" She yelped, fumbling with her words at first, still shocked at his declaration.
"Ooh, I see now. Sheena, I think you do like him!" Colette giggled, excited for her friend.
"No! How could anyone like that-… that-…" But she couldn't think of anything to call him. It didn't bring her the same satisfaction as it used to. She sighed. "If I did, what then? Nothing. It wouldn't work. So I don't see what you intend to prove by deciding I like him anyways."
"If it's meant to be, things always work out." Raine offered, her eyes smiling.
"It's not meant to be. It can't be. It just can't." She decided softly, more to reassure herself than them. No, she can't like him. Not like that. 'To love is to give someone the ability to shatter you completely, but to trust them not to... I'm not ready for that, not yet. Whenever I trust, something bad comes of it.' But it was too late, for even as the ninja denied it, she knew that she trusted him more than anyone she knew. Just then, however, the door burst open once more.
"I've returned with the ingredients, fair maidens!" Zelos declared, either ignoring Genis's presence or including him in the 'fair maidens' just to spite him. The young elf growled slightly, but at Raine's silencing look, he stopped at that. "Everyone, into the living room! I want this dinner to be a surprise."
At his request, the other four cleared out, stepping through a door to their right and entering a well-decorated room with couches and such scattered all about. The rest of the afternoon was spent many ways. At one, you'd find Raine seated on the couch nearest the bookshelf, eagerly immersed in a book, Sheena and Colette catching up on the occurrences since they'd last seen each other, and Genis attempting to listen, but growing bored of the 'girl talk' and playing with his kendama. At three, you'd find Raine still immersed in a book, Genis resting on the same couch with his head on her lap, and Sheena and Colette wandering about the room, admiring all the art and such that littered the walls and various other places. At five, Raine was still immersed in the book, Sheena and Colette were sitting beside her, attempting to make sense of what she was reading, and Genis was firing small decorative pebbles from one of the flowerpots at their heads. This five-o-clock scene was what Zelos Wilder walked in on at 5:07, a triumphant grin on his face.
"Dinner is served." He beamed, and the others rose immediately, curious as to how good the redheaded Chosen could actually cook, having never been forced to do so before while he lived his life of luxury. What greeted them in the kitchen made them all wide-eyed with surprise. The entire table was filled with absolutely amazing-looking food, and the smells weren't any worse. In a sort of trance, the four sat down at the table, barely able to resist the tantalizing smells.
"This looks wonderful!" Raine commented, though she resisted the urge to taste it.
"Well what are you guys waiting for? Dig in!" And they did just that. Never had a meal tasted so good to any of them, especially Genis, for he'd lived on Raine's cooking for far longer than was healthy. Even when they had all finished, none of them spoke as the allowed their food to settle. It was one of the biggest meals any of them had had in as long as they could remember.
"Thank you, Zelos." Sheena softly acknowledged, followed by murmurs of gratitude from the other three as well, too stuffed to say it any louder.
"Anything for my favoritest hunnies." He replied, still ignoring/insulting Genis. Sheena snorted softly in distaste, too softly to be heard by anyone but herself… Yet the other three looked at her anyways, each knowing how she felt to some degree. 'Oh, so I'm just another one of his 'favoritest hunnies'? That makes me feel so special.' She grumbled inwardly. The moment was so awkward that even Zelos noticed it, and he looked around at them questioningly, unaware of Sheena's snort or her inward grumblings. Raine was the one who decided to break the silence, sliding her chair back and rising from the table.
"Thank you for making us dinner and such, but we really must be going. Genis and I, at least." She stated, grabbing her brother by the collar of his shirt when he whined a complaint.
"No, I'll go with you guys." Colette reassured, rising as well. "Thanks, Zelos! See you later, Sheena! Good luck on your quest!"
"Yeah, good luck! Go kick some bad guy ass for me, kay?" Genis piped in, earning yet another smack upside the head from his sister for using somewhat undesirable language. Zelos sniggered slightly, but Sheena nodded.
"Don't worry. We intend to." There was something ominous in her voice, and at that moment not a soul in the room wanted to be on her bad side.
"Be careful, my Ultra-Cool Beauty! You too, my Little Angel!" Zelos called as they left the room. "And if you accidentally dump the little one off the Rhieard, it won't take me too long to recover from my sadness!"
Sheena laughed slightly. 'Some things never change.'
(Yes, it's quick, but I wanted to get to the next one soon. It's the climax. Mwahaha. )