Chapter 4

First Day of Training

"Ah, so you're here," Dirk greeted both men as they drew near his house.

"Hi, Dad! Hey, do we have some extra blankets? If we don't then I'll share mines with Dad. Wait this is getting confusing, now I have two Dads!" Lloyd smiled.

"It's all right, Lloyd. I can sleep without blankets," the brown-red haired angel looked grateful to his son.

"Yeah, I think we have some blankets…" the dwarf went inside his house.

"We're leaving tomorrow," the teenager looked anxious.

"Yes…"

"Do you promise on teaching me everything you know?"

"I'll try…" said Kratos not looking at Lloyd

"Thanks, Dad. You know, I'm really lucky having you as my Dad," said Lloyd briskly, raising his arms to the back of his head and looked up at the sky.

"And I'm really lucky having you as my Son…" Kratos murmured.

"Did you say something?" the boy looked at his father.

"No…Please, show me where I'll sleep," the Seraph smiled softly at the boy.

"Um, sure. Follow me," the boy went inside followed by Kratos. Lloyd climbed up the stairs to reach his room, which consisted of only one bed, a chair, and a door that led to the balcony.

"Here you are. I found the blankets. Here, take them," Dirk appeared from the stairs with a bunch of white cloth.

"Thank you," Kratos received the blankets and placed them carefully on the floor, preparing a bed.

"Well, good night, you two," Dirk descended the stairs.

Lloyd took off his boots and gauntlets and placed them on a corner of his room. He then took off his belts and swords and set them on the chair. He jumped to his bed and stayed there with his eyes closed.

"You seem happy," the angel watched as his son sat with his legs crossed.

"Yep! We're starting our training tomorrow, remember? I'm really excited!" Lloyd said joyous.

"I hope you can maintain that enthusiasm," Kratos sat on his bed beside Lloyd.

"Shut up! I promise I'll maintain my enthusiasm this time."

"Very well. Then go to sleep, we will wake up early," Kratos lay down and closed his eyes but had the strange feeling that Lloyd was looking at him. He opened his eyes and saw the boy peeping from his bed "What?"

"Tell me more about Mom," Lloyd's eyes lit up.

"Not now, Lloyd. I'll tell you what you want to know tomorrow. Now, go to sleep," he closed his eyes again, but Lloyd kept looking at him.

"Aw, come on!" the brown haired youngster begged.

"No, Lloyd. Go to sleep. I promise to tell you everything tomorrow morning."

"You're no fun!" the boy finally gave up and lay down. After a few minutes, he was totally asleep.

"Sleep well," Kratos listened to Lloyd's snoring for a long time, but finally exhaustion caught up with him, too.

vvvvv

The next morning, Kratos got up earlier than usual. The sky was still dark blue and the stars could be seen, so he went outside Dirk's house to wait for dawn. After a few minutes, Dirk appeared.

"Good day, Kratos," the dwarf greeted.

"Good morning," Kratos was sitting beside Anna's grave; apparently, he had been speaking with her, "I never thank you for raising Lloyd so well"

"Ah, it was nothing. I really enjoyed being his father all these years," Dirk picked up a bunch of wood.

"He's a good boy… I'm proud of him," the angel looked up at Lloyd's room, where the boy was still asleep.

"Yeah, I'm proud of him, too. Well, I have to get to work," Dirk went inside his house, leaving Kratos sitting next to the grave. He waited until the sky was shaded a slight yellow, he then ascended the stairs.

"Lloyd, wake up. It's time to go," Kratos shook Lloyd's shoulder gently.

"Five more minutes, Dad," the boy mumbled, still sleeping.

Kratos sighed, picked up and folded his blankets and sat down, leaning on the wooden wall. He watched as his son slept for five more minutes.

"Lloyd, it's time to go now" the angel's voice sounded stronger.

"Wha?" Lloyd woke up and with sleepy eyes he looked at his father "It's time to go?"

"Yes," Kratos got up from the floor.

"Okay," Lloyd yawned and stretched, scratched his head and got up. He put on his boots and grabbed his steel swords.

"Where is Flamberge?" Kratos noticed Lloyd didn't have his old sword with him.

"Oh, it's downstairs with the Vorpal sword. May I ask you something?"

"You may."

"Where did you get Flamberge? It's been bugging me…"

"My father gave it to me. That was the last time I saw him…" Kratos closed his eyes.

"Last time? Why?"

"Because of the war. I had been recruited when I was only 18… and my father gave me the sword his father had given him; he made me promise I would give it to my son. And now, it's yours."

"Wow, then that sword is more than 4000 years old… "

"Yes. Anyway, let's go downstairs, you need to eat something before we leave, we will not stop until we reach Triet."

"Triet! Are you kidding me? Of course we are taking the Rheairds, right?"

"No. We will travel by foot."

"WHAT!" Lloyd's eyes widened.

"It's part of the training. Besides, didn't you tell me that you wanted to travel in your boat around the world once it was at peace?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Your boat is in Luin, correct? Then, after we reach Triet, we will go through the Ossa Trail and head for Luin, maybe we can stop at Hima…" Kratos walked around the room eyes closed, thinking.

"But, there's a problem: I still don't know how to navigate a boat."

"Don't worry about it; I know how to do it. I'll teach you," said the angel still eyes closed.

"You will? That's great! Now I'm excited! Then let's go eat something, shall we?" Lloyd hurried downstairs. Kratos sighed and followed his son, "I hope he can maintain his enthusiasm."

The angel found the boy sitting on a corner eating a large variety of fruits. When Lloyd noticed Kratos was looking at him, he offered his father some, "No, thank you."

"But, you have to eat, don't you? Or, wait, you're an angel; maybe you don't need to eat like Colette?" Lloyd munched an apple.

"I can eat, but not as much as you have to. I don't have to sleep, either," said Kratos wearily.

"Do you have any taste?" asked the youngster.

"Yes, but barely," explained the elder.

"Yeah, if you didn't, you wouldn't put lemon on your sandwiches," said Lloyd happily.

"You noticed?" Kratos blushed.

"Yeah, because I put lemon on them, too," said Lloyd heartily.

"Heh," Kratos felt a surge of sympathy toward his son.

"I also noticed you avoid using tomatoes at all. Why? Don't you like tomatoes?"

"No, not particularly…" he raised a hand to his face.

"I don't like tomatoes, either," said Lloyd cheerfully.

"Let's get going. Are you ready to leave?" said Kratos changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"Clothes. Food. Everything? Your swords?"

"Oh, yeah. Flamberge and Vorpal," Lloyd stood and walked to a long wooden box with metal borders. The boy took out a red and gold sword; it was a very fine weapon, forged by the best blacksmith. He also took out a blue and silver, a sword crafted by his foster father, Dirk. He sheathed his swords, "Gotcha. And clothes, well, I've only got this," said the boy showing him his ripped red shirt.

"Yes, we will stop at Triet," said Kratos looking at his son with his eyebrows raised. Lloyd gave Kratos a confused look.

vvvvv

After saying good-bye to the dwarf, both left Dirk's house. Noishe, an enormous, green and white dog came running at them with a pleading look on his face.

"Noishe, you have to stay with Dad. I know you want to come with us but please stay," Lloyd patted the gigantic creature on the head. Noishe whined, licked Kratos' face, but returned to his pen on Dirk's house.

They were walking in silence until a wolf appeared and attacked Lloyd. The boy unsheathed his two swords: Flamberge and Vorpal. His two fathers had given him the swords before the last battle with Mithos. Flamberge was sword that resembled a flame, and Vorpal was an ice blade, the best sword Dirk had ever forged.

Lloyd battled the wolf with any help from his father. Kratos only stood away with arms crossed in front of him. It only took a few minutes to defeat it, but when he finished, Kratos told Lloyd what skills he needed to work out more.

"You are still wide open. You need to focus on your defense more," he reprimanded him. Lloyd glared at the angel but his father merely frowned.

"Oh, yeah… I had forgotten you're the best swordsman ever and you're soo perfect," Lloyd said sarcastically, sheathing his twin blades.

Kratos first glared at his son, but a memory came back to his mind. He smiled.

"Why are you smiling all of a sudden?" Lloyd bent his head to one side trying to decipher what was on Kratos' mind.

"I just… remembered something," was the only answer he got.

"What?" he asked with an inquisitive look. Lloyd was desperate for the Seraph to tell him another story. He was sure he had remembered something about his mother, Anna. The elder's smile was not a mere grin, but a warm and gentle smile.

"Anna said exactly the same thing," Kratos eyes shone with love and sadness. He could remember perfectly her beautiful body, her long smooth brown hair, her green eyes full of determination, her brave personality…

The angel felt his eyes water and turned away so his son couldn't see he was crying. He wiped away the silent tear but the sadness remained in all his body. If it hadn't been for him, Lloyd could have had a mother…

"Dad… "

"You must be hungry… I'll go get some food…" the Seraph walked away and entered the forest.

"What is he talking about? I just had breakfast," Lloyd watched as his father disappeared in the woods.

vvvvv

Kratos walked absent-mindedly through the Iselia forest; he knew his son had noticed his tears but he didn't care. The thoughts of Anna's death were fresh in his mind, as if they had happened the day before. He kept wondering what would have happened had she not died. He closed his eyes, letting the tears slide down.

"I miss you, Anna… I miss you so much…"

Kvar, one of the Desian Five Grand Cardinals, had captured Anna; right under Kratos' nose. The angel knew he had to rescue her but he didn't know why. Maybe because rescuing Anna, the Angelus Project, would ruin Mithos' plans? Or maybe because he knew what would happen once her Exsphere was removed and didn't want any more victims? Or perhaps because he had… feelings for her? No. The Seraph Kratos Aurion knew that love was a weakness he did not possess. He had lost the ability to love a long time ago, along with his taste for food. But maybe… He shook those thoughts out of his mind as he entered the Human Ranch. He didn't know where the Desians had taken Anna, but he expected her to be in a cell.

He sneaked into the cells chamber and started looking for her like a ghost. He gave up when he made sure Anna was not there; he was beginning to descend the stairs when his angelic senses told him someone was breathing noisily. The auburn haired man noticed there a hidden cubicle right beneath the stairs. He looked inside the small room and saw what he had been looking for: Anna. Unfortunately, she was sleeping.

He opened the door carefully, he didn't want to wake her up; she looked so peaceful when she was sleeping, so beautiful…

The angel walked to her and shook her gently, "Anna, wake up. We have to get out of here."

"What? Kratos! What're you doing here!" she snapped at the brown headed.

"What do you think? I'm rescuing you!" he answered keeping his voice down, "Come on, we have to get out of here before Kvar finds out."

"Wait a sec-" she began, but her companion had taken her hand and dragged her out of her cell. They ran out of the Human Ranch as quickly and quietly as they could.

When they had finally made it out and had found a safe area where they could rest, Anna started scolding Kratos, as usual.

"Do you realize what you have done?" she yelled.

"Yes, I saved your life," he answered somewhat hurt.

"I-I didn't want you to save me!" she said clenching her teeth.

"Don't tell me you actually wanted to die back there!"

"I… I had everything under my control."

"Not from my point of view, you were trapped! Locked inside your own cell!"

"You didn't have to save me!"

"I wanted to!"

"Oh, really? And just why!"

"Because I love you!" there was a long pause in which both of them stared at each other. Kratos couldn't believe he had said that, to her! He couldn't love her. And yet… He knew those feelings were real.

Anna blushed and looked away with an expression of apprehension on her face.

Kratos' heart hurt a bit, "Oh, I… see… I'm sorry…" he said, looking down. He had really hoped she would say 'I love you too!' and run towards him and hug him, never letting go, but that had only been a dream… Wait a minute, what was he thinking! But it was true, after all. His heart was playing with his emotions.

The Seraph looked into Anna's eyes, usually full of determination, but now, full with apprehension. He started walking away, and when she didn't call him back, he left.

vvvvv

Anna had been waiting for Kratos to return, she wanted to tell him she loved him too, but when Kratos didn't come back after a few hours, Anna grew worried and left the cave they had found.

The sky was dyed a deep blue and the stars twinkled form above. Anna wandered the forest in search of her companion but had no luck at all. She came to a rock cliff where the trees had stopped growing, leaving it completely naked. Anna sighed as she climbed a nearby tree and watched the stars.

A few minutes later, Anna heard footsteps and looked down and saw Kratos standing there, his gaze lost.

"Kratos?" Anna asked shyly.

"What are you doing here? We're near the Human Ranch, you shouldn't be wandering alone," Anna was surprised at Kratos' reaction, even after the look she gave him after he told her he loved her, he was sill worried about her.

"I… was worried about you," she said sliding down from the tree and walking towards him.

"…" Kratos stared at her, anyone that knew Kratos well would have noticed the change in Kratos' look. He had a usually cold gaze, but now, he showed a gentle and warm one.

"All the things I said before… I didn't mean them! I just… just… I mean, you're always saving me and I can't even help you! I feel so useless," a tear fell down her cheek.

Kratos raised a hand to her face and wiped the tear as gently as he could, "Don't ever, ever, think you're useless. Because you're not."

"Kratos…" she hugged him, "I love you too."

"Dad! Where are you!" Lloyd came running where Kratos' stood, remembering when he told Anna he loved her.

"I'm here, Lloyd," he said out loud so his son could hear him.

"What happened to you?" Lloyd came running out of some bushes, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I just needed to be alone for a while," he said, trying to smile, but the thought of Anna, still fresh in his mind, kept him from doing so.

"Dad…" Lloyd frowned; he knew perfectly Kratos was thinking about his mother, Anna.

"By the way, Lloyd, what did you name the Great Kharlan Tree?" asked Kratos, changing the subject.

"Oh, I named it 'Mithos Yggdrasill'. I know it's a weird name for a tree, but I thought it would be nice to remember that Mithos just wanted to save the world." He answered scratching the back of his head.

"It is a good name," the Seraph smiled while patting his son on the shoulder.