Disclaimer: All appearing characters and places belong to Namco.
The O-dai themes belong to the Zeroshii-Wa, at http/deburu98249.jog. but written correctly. If you visit, don't steal!
Warnings: Might be angsty. More experimental heterodiagetic narration! Whoo.
Also, I'd like y'all to read this – there's this theory going around the internets which says that Zelos and Sheena used to date before she was sent to Sylvarant. I don't know whether that is true or not, but I decided to use said theory for this O-dai for reasons that are explained at the authornotes at the end of the fic. Did the random blackies and underlined stuff get your attention? I sure hope they did They were a pain to write!
Normal Version,
#3 – Parting
"I've been thinking…"
"Mmh?"
"That perhaps we should end things."
"Ah really?"
"…yes. I have… things to do."
"Ah really?"
"Is that all you're going to say? I… you don't even care, do you?"
He looked at her, shrugged and half-turned to the side. "I do. But what were you expecting me to do? Yell? Cry? Throw myself down and beg? Pfft. The Great Zelos begs to no-one, hunny."
She crossed her arms and sighed in annoyance, looking to the opposite side too.
"Besides…" Zelos continued resting his head on his arms. "It makes things easier, right?"
"Yes, I suppose it does."
What a lie.
Nothing could make things easier, and they both knew that.
Sheena had been aware that it would have to be her the first to speak, but that didn't mean she had wanted to. To say those words… 'Perhaps we should end things', it had been difficult. She had been afraid, she had been sad, she had been struggling to keep calm.
Zelos had been aware that things were coming to an end. He had heard of her mission, and he knew she might not come back at all. So he knew she would want to end things. But to hear it… 'Perhaps we should end things', it had been much worse than he had imagined. He had been afraid, and now he could feel a sharp ache within his chest.
Because…
…how could she be so cool about it?
And
…how could he be so cool about it?
How could she? Just that, 'Perhaps we should end things', as if she was talking about how pretty the sky looked. Did nothing matter to her? Their memories, his feelings…?
How could he? Just that, 'Ah, really?', as if they were talking about how what nice the weather was today. Did nothing matter to him? The times they spent together, her feelings…?
Perhaps he never had feelings for her.
Perhaps she never had feelings for him.
Silence.
Awkward, tense silence.
Unsaid words, repressed emotions. So hard to keep cool, to pretend they didn't care. That silence would only bring more pain never occurred to them.
To speak would mean to face the other; to face the other would mean to break down; to break down would mean to lose.
And they were too proud.
"Is it because of Sylvarant?"
She looked startled and then nodded, barely allowing her eyes to look at him for a fraction of second. "You know about the declining world?"
"Heard from the Renegades. They informed the Meltokio axis – the King, the Pope and me."
"Then you know why I need to go there."
"To assassinate their Chosen, right?"
"Yes."
"Sounds pretty cruel, to kill an entire world's hope. But, heh, it's a dog eat dog world, right?"
"Yes… and that's why I might not come back."
"…"
"They'll fight back. They won't let their only chance at regeneration die so easily."
"…then why are you even going?" there. After a few seconds of silence, he had managed to speak – a slip of the tongue, with all the emotions he had contained for the last minutes condensed in that hoarse whisper; a weak flicker of hope.
And so she answered the only reason she could actually think of – "…because," and just like him her voice trembled.
The two took a minute of two to recover.
"Heheheh," he laughed falsely, "You, Miss Professional Ninja, should learn how to take a vacation."
She managed to smile, too. "And you, Mr. Chosen of Mana, should learn when to stop taking them."
Ah yes, he was the Chosen. For a moment there he had almost forgotten about that and tried to act human.
How silly of him.
Well, that was just one more reason to keep cool, right? Never mind about his dignity and reputation, never mind about how he actually wanted to hug her knees and just ask her to stay… the Chosen couldn't stoop to that kind of thing.
Even if Zelos Wilder wanted to.
"So…"
"So?"
"You haven't said what you think."
"I… haven't?"
"No. You just said you wouldn't beg."
"Right. So that's why you said 'So'?"
"Exactly."
"…I can't stop you, can I?"
"…even as the Chosen, this decision is backed by both the King and the Pope…"
"…I didn't mean it that way."
"…it's the same."
No, it wasn't. But what was the use of saying that?
"What I mean is I can't change your mind. I've tried to some other times, and it just doesn't work. There'd be no use in trying to tie you down or anything."
"So…?"
"If you want to end things then I'll just go along. I hate getting into trouble anyway."
"Oh I know about that," silence, and then, "Alright then."
"Yeah. Alright. I think you are too obstinate for me anyway," no she wasn't. He knew she wasn't.
"What?" but it was easier to have her angry.
"Yeah! I mean, we hardly did a thing! Cht, you're a nice girl but kinda boring as a date, if you ask me…"
"You idiot! I have to go to Goddess knows where and that's what you say to me?"
"What! I thought you liked honest people…?"
"There's such a thing as decency, moron!"
And off she was. But it was easier, he guessed, to have her angry. She would thank him one day.
Or perhaps not. But it would take her mind off things.
Meanwhile, he'd go back to being the Chosen.
Maybe he'd wait for her.
Even if she didn't.
Notes: Man, was this one hard to write or what? Me doesn't like. I no good write angst.
If you read the warning at the top, you know about the "they used to date" theory. I can't confirm it – I don't even like the idea that much, and I haven't seen anything that confirms it. As far as I know its just something the fans invented.
Why did I use it then? Well, this O-dai has a kinda complicated title. "Wakare" in Japanese means just "Parting", so I thought of writing a short "good-bye, see you next week" sweet thing. But then it occurred that, colloquially, "Wakare" is used for when a relationship ends… so "wakare" is then, commonly, "splitting up", so I changed it into what you read. Angsty, was it not? Creepy, given I'm not comfortable writing angst.
Anyway, again thanks for reviewing! I feel like answering the reviews, so… Tamerlane (I'm glad you caught the nostalgia), DarkNite109 (funny, I, too, don't usually go for only romance when I read and yet I write it), StrawberryEggs (I liked your fic! I wouldn't have reviewed if I didn't, really!), TUF STUFF (yes, small Sheena was fun to write 'cause she wants to be nice), Urby (YES RIVERS ARE EVIL!), lugimania (yay, you understand the greatness of O-Dai!) and Eliannora (heeeeeeh, glad you liked, even if it confused you at first, heh).
So there! See y'all someday during the weekend.
WDR
Coming Next
#4 – Adventure
