Summary: Set a few months after the events of the game, Lloyd and Sheena are on their quest to recover all Exspheres. Things will soon take a turn for the worst however and loyalties will be questioned...

Warnings: Character Death(s) (If you can't take it do not read on), Language, and possibly slightly more 'intimate' scenes (Hence the rating). There will also be spoilers, possibly very major ones, so as with most fanfics do not read unless you've already completed the game.

Keep in mind that this is my first fanfic, so if you do leave a review try to make it constructive (Rather than just 'OMG tht sux lol'). Now then... On with the show!

The early evening sun beamed down upon the top of Gaoracchia forest, and in places managed to pierce through the thick canopy of leaves, glistening on the still-moist plants below. While the forest had thinned out slightly since the joining of the two worlds, it was by no means a bright and sunny place to be. Monsters, bandits and occasionally ninjas from the still-nearby Mizuho always lurking silently in the shadows, which still happened to take up most of the forest.

But right now there were footsteps. Fast and hard, and accompanied by the sounds of three men who were sounding more and more out of breath. They came to a halt in what would be considered a clearing to those familiar with the forest.

"Keep looking! They can't have gone far!" screamed the one most out of breath, a combined look of anger and terror on his face.

"I knew this was a bad idea…" sighed the next, moving to leave and look around.

"Wait…". What looked like the leader of the three stepped slowly into the centre of the clearing. He smiled. "Quite clever, I must admit, but I won't be fooled that easily. Don't move" he told his men, who gave each other confused glances. "Don't you see? They're trying to split us up. Even during the middle of the day we can hardly see a few metres ahead… Taking us out one by one would be easy".

There was some rustling in the trees above. The leader jerked his head upwards, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was up there, but couldn't see a thing. In that moment he was distracted, and suddenly a red blur leapt from behind a tree, knocking him out with a swift blow to the head from a wooden sword. In that same instant a rush of purple dropped down from the trees, landing right on top of another of the men, before taking out the last with a quick chop to the neck.

"Pathetic" laughed Sheena. "You just can't get good quality bandits these days"

"Yeah, well… They're not even worth killing. Let's just leave 'em" replied Lloyd, grinning to himself. "You were aw- … I mean… Nice… Work" stammered Lloyd, before quickly taking an interest in the top of the forest, his face a bright shade of pink.

"What-" Sheena asked, suddenly looking down and realising she was revealing even more than usual. "Whoops!" She laughed awkwardly, now turning an even darker red. Sheena sighed inwardly. She hated the way Lloyd made her act, made her feel, and yet at the same time she couldn't help but love it. She knew she loved Lloyd, but since that night a few months ago when Lloyd agreed to travel the world with her he hadn't shown any signs that he might love her too. Sheena had been sure he understood her that night, but was becoming more and more aware that he was absolutely oblivious, and in a way blamed herself for not being straight forward enough. Lloyd isn't exactly the smartest guy in the world after all, especially when it comes to figuring out girls. She just wished she could put her feelings into words...

"Err... Sheena?" Lloyd asked, a puzzled expression on his face. She realised she'd been standing there for a while.

"Oh... Sorry! I was just... Thinking..."She replied dreamily. "Anyway, how many did we find?"

"Just two. I thought there'd be a lot more Exspheres here though" Lloyd admitted.

"Well I guess it just means less work for us, doesn't it?"

"Heh, I'm certainly not complaining, It's just... strange. Where are we going next then? I think maybe we should get Flanoir over and done with. It's not too far anyway."

Flanoir... More memories of failed opportunities. Lloyd noticed her blank expression.

"Sheena are you o.k? Do you want to lie down or something?" he asked

"I think I'm just tired... Would you mind if we went back to Mizuho first?" she asked, sounding completely drained. "We need to get some supplies anyway"

"Yeah sure. I assume we'll need a good night's rest if we're gonna be hunting around Flanoir anyway" he replied. He thought about enquiring further but decided against it. She probably wouldn't tell him if there was something wrong anyway.

They made their way towards Mizuho in an awkward silence, both of them wanting to say something, but never finding the courage. There were hardly any monsters around at the moment, especially noticeable since the forest was usually teeming with them. Once again Lloyd thought it a bit strange, but like Sheena said, it just means less work.

By the time they reached the village the sun was setting, casting a beautiful orange skin across the top of houses and glimmering on the surface of the shallow river running through the village's centre. Sheena had forgotten how amazing Mizuho looked, and even Lloyd caught himself staring placidly at the water. As they entered the village chief saw them out of the corner of his eye, and came over to greet them.

"Always good to see you Sheena" he said, bowing to them "And Lloyd of course" he added, grinning at Sheena.

She scowled at him, knowing exactly what that grin meant, before adding "Sorry but we can't stay long. We're just here to get some essentials before we continue to Flanoir"

"Well both of you will always be welcome here, of course. Take whatever you need. You were our salvation after all" the chief smiled.

"It was nothing... Really!" Lloyd quickly assured the chief, waving his arms in front of him defensively.

"Modest as always I see. Now if you'll excuse me I have some work to do. Make yourselves at home by all means" he added motioning towards Sheena's house, and once again casting a grin Sheena's way, before walking off to continue his conversation with one of Mizuho's few citizens.

If it was possible Sheena felt even more depressed now. Even her grandfather could see her obvious affection for Lloyd. Infact Lloyd seemed to be the sole person in the world who hadn't figured it out yet. She was beginning to wonder if maybe he knew, and simply didn't care, though admittedly if that was the case she'd rather not know...

They made their way into the house, Sheena feeling more and more awkward. She hoped that Lloyd hadn't caught onto the chief's grinning, simply because she felt too embarrassed to talk about it.

"So... I'll sleep on the floor then" Lloyd said, noticing Sheena's single bed.

"Ah- Yeah. I could get a futon if you want?" she replied, cursing herself for not getting a bigger bed years ago.

"Nah it's o.k., I quite like the wooden floor" he admitted, slightly embarrassed. "It's... comfy" He added

"O.k then, I'll just get you a blanket"

"Actually... I'm not that tired yet. I think I'll take a quick walk. You get some rest" he said, moving towards the door.

"Lloyd-" she called as he opened the door. He turned to face her

"Yeah?"

She hesitated. "I- ... Erm... Never mind. Good night" she said simply, wanting to kick herself.

"Night" he smiled, shutting the door

Sheena lay back in her bed and punched her pillow viciously. Stupid emotions.

Long afterwards, well into the night, one of the men on watch around Mizuho thought he saw a flash of purple and red in front of him. He found nothing upon investigating however, and simply blamed it on lack of sleep, mumbling something about long shifts and not enough dinner.

-Boring introductory chapter-

Don't worry it will get more interesting. ;) Hopefully soon, but you'll just have to wait and see.

As I said please leave helpful criticism. I need YOU! to help make this the best it can be. Anything helpful will be well received