Chapter 3: Fire

(Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I just had no idea what to write for 'fire'. I thought at first, the fire of passion between them or something sappy like that, but the other two one-shots have been sappy and I like variety. Then I thought of the Triet area, Efreet's fiery home, etc. but I couldn't think of anything to go with that. Then for like five days wouldn't let me update. So… Here's this.)

It was common knowledge amongst the group of eight that Sheena Fujibayashi absolutely, positively, completely, and utterly loathed the Chosen of Tethe'alla. No, perhaps that wasn't exactly true. She had no problems with the Chosen… It was the man behind the title, Zelos Wilder, that she despised. She hated him for his womanizing ways, for his constant groping of her personal areas, for how he never truly cared about anyone. She hated him for his hunnies, for his mansion, for his life of luxury. But most of all, she hated him for how he lived his life carefree. How he was always lighthearted, always grinning, always joking, where Sheena could barely escape her past, her present, and her future long enough to smile. But, in all honesty, why she hated him doesn't matter. Just the fact that she hated him, and everyone knew it. Nobody knew it more than Zelos himself, who felt the hate more often than not with a slap on the cheek, a kick in the sensitive area, or one of eight or so Summon Spirits summoned on him. So it came as quite a surprise when she came to him one day, all the way from Mizuho, and said to him, 'I need your help.' See, the Mizuho Book had been stolen. Upon hearing that, one may think, 'What's the big deal? It's just a book.' But that book held the secrets of over ten generations of ninjas, secrets that would mean disaster if any of the outside world knew. So it was vital, worth half the village's lives, to get it back. So Chief Igaguri, having awoken a year before from his coma, sent Sheena to retrieve it. He knew she could do it. After all, she'd helped save the two worlds, had she not? But she knew she couldn't do it alone. She needed someone famous, worshipped… Chosen. So she'd found him, and he'd eagerly accepted, and off they went on an adventure…

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Every muscle in his body was tense. He didn't know exactly why; all he knew was, she had tensed like this moments before, and rarely did she tense without good reason. Usually, this foretold danger. So when she tensed, he followed suit. Silence enveloped the pair, yet she still did not relax. Her ultra-sensitive hazel eyes took in their surroundings, from each branch to each pebble. Though he couldn't tell by looking, he knew her ears were just as keen, and silence was crucial to her identification of whatever had caused her tension. So he didn't speak. He didn't move. He hardly dared breathe… Until her voice at last broke the silence.

"Kuchinawa." She murmured, her feelings for the other ninja quite evident in her tone. Even if the redheaded Chosen hadn't heard before of Sheena's rivalry with Kuchinawa, he would have easily learned of it then. And a moment later, her suspicions were confirmed. A figure, clad in red and black from head to toe, stepped from the shadows of the forest. Even through his mask, the pair could almost see his smirk.

"Kuchinawa." She spoke his name again, though this time louder, and with far more disdain. The ninja in question snorted in amusement.

"Still alive, are we? Pity. Now I have to watch you shame our once-proud village once more." He sneered, though a hint of something akin to regret lingered in his last phrase. The raven-haired ninja's hand shot to the pink ribbon holding together her violet robe, sliding her thumb beneath the soft silk where her card lay hidden.

"Get out of our way, Kuchinawa, or I'll be forced to kill you. I'm on a highly important mission, and I can't allow an exile like you to delay me!" She called, her tone almost that of a warning growl. Zelos stepped up beside her, shooting her a cautionary glance, his mind replaying the last time she'd attempted to kill the ex-Mizuhoan. The memory caused him to wince slightly… It had been three days before she'd woken up, and even then she was sore for quite a while. Though she had improved, he couldn't help but have his reservations.

"Highly important mission? I distinctly remember you failing the last one… Ah yes, as well as the one before that." Though his voice was level, a flicker of vengeance passed through his darkened eyes at the mention of her first mission. Volt. A third of the village had been wiped out… Including Kuchinawa and his brother Orochi's parents. Sheena winced slightly, her confidence flickering a moment, before her eyes met her rival's once more, burning defensively.

"I distinctly remember saving both Tethe'alla AND Sylvarant from certain destruction. Or has that one slipped your mind?" Her reply was icy, and it took the crimson-clad shinobi a moment to figure how to respond. She had a point, after all.

"Now tell me, does your 'highly important mission' have anything to do with… this, by any chance?" His voice was nonchalant, as if it were an everyday question, but the moment he pulled a mahogany-leather book from his robe, the matter became anything but everyday.

"The Mizuho Book." Sheena gasped, and only then did Zelos realize what this worn-out book truly was, for never before had he even close to seen such a secret artifact.

"Oh, it does? Sorry to burst your bubble, Sheena-chan, but I'm going to have to keep this a while longer." He feigned sadness, though all three present knew he was mocking her.

"Sheena-chan? I am not a child!" She raged, but was interrupted by Kuchinawa as he stepped a step back.

"It's quite a shame to cut this little reunion short, but I must be going now. Ciao." With that and a final smirk, the shinobi turned on his heels and dashed off down the path. Like lightning, Sheena sprang after him, so fast that even Zelos, with his angelic reflexes, couldn't reach out and stop her in time.

"Sheena! Wait!" He couldn't let her go after Kuchinawa, for if the shinobi was fast, Sheena was faster yet, and surely they'd end up battling. He didn't want to see her hurt again…

The ninja heard his cry but made no move to stop. "Kuchinawa, you're mine."

The Chosen closed his eyes, reaching deep inside himself for the place his fiery golden-red wings were stored, and in record time they'd materialized on his back. By now, Sheena had disappeared from sight before him, so he had to hurry before she caught up to the shinobi. Lifting silently from the ground, he flew higher and higher, all the while winging after the pair. He stopped ascending and focused on forward when he got to a better vantage height.

Meanwhile, Sheena could see her foe just ahead, where the forest opened up to a cliff, a massive river, and a narrow rope-bridge spanning the gap. Kuchinawa was halfway across the bridge, and in just a few more footfalls she'd be upon it as well. Five more steps, four, three…

Zelos saw them both from above, and he knew just what he had to do. Kuchinawa was just bounding from the bridge, and Sheena had nearly reached the first plank. He tucked his wings in, falling into a swift dive straight at the spot. But Sheena was a mere three steps away at max, he wouldn't reach it in time…

"FIRE BALL!" cried a voice from above Sheena's head, and to her dismay the two supporting ropes were aflame in seconds. She made to leap over it, but was tackled mid-air and shoved back to solid land, just as the bridge fell away before her. Kuchinawa had escaped, and Zelos had made it so. After staring after the shinobi a moment, watching helplessly as he sprung out of sight, she whirled on the redhead, looking about ready to shoot fire herself.

"What the hell was that for? You let him get away! Whose side are you on, you pathetic, idiotic, boneheaded, perverted, obnoxious little-… little-… UGH!" She roared, growling in frustration after finding no name she could call him that properly suited her rage.

"Sheena, you would have been killed!" Zelos cried in response, bracing himself as the ninja came forward, hand poised to strike. After a moment, however, she made a noise of disgust and turned away, too frustrated to even slap him.

"Sheena, I-"

"Get the hell away from me, Zelos." She demanded without looking his way. After a moment of hopeful waiting, he sighed, turned, and sulked off into the forest. Turning his cerulean eyes back for a final look, he saw Sheena, sitting on the cliff with her head in her hands… For the first time since he'd known her, Sheena Fujibayashi was crying.

(Aww. Decided to make this a sad one.)