Summary: After the journey of world regeneration, Kratos decides to visit the others. But after Raine is attacked, his plans for 'vacation' are ruined.
Rating: PG-13 (T)
Disclaimer: The Tales of Symphonia characters and previous plot belong to Namco & Kosuke Fujishima. I own only the plot of this story.
Salvation Vacation
Chapter Three : Forest Flight
Raine woke up late the following morning. To her dismay, Kratos was nowhere to be found. "So much for solving the problem together," she muttered aloud before straightening her clothes. Snatching up her deck brush, she crawled out of the canopy and wandered along the closest path. Now where could he have gone? A few minutes later, she came to a point where two other paths met the one she was walking on. In this wide space stood the seraphim in question, apparently practicing his swordsmanship. Raine leaned on a tree, deck brush in hand. If he didn't notice me, why should I tell him?
Kratos drew his sword, stabbing an invisible enemy. Next he back-stepped, dodged to the side, and slashed at the foe again. Back-stepping once more, he suddenly turned around for a vertical slash and found himself face-to-face with the spying half-elf.
Raine's eyes widened a good bit before calming down again. "Er, good morning, Kratos."
"Raine," he nodded in greeting before sheathing his sword and started walking back to camp. The healer noticed that he was favoring his right leg slightly.
That's strange, Raine thought, but maybe he just tripped over a stray vine. He'd probably just get irritated if I brought it up. He's a big boy; he can take care of himself. She watched as Kratos disappeared around a bend up ahead and rushed to catch up. As she rounded the curve, she swore she could have seen the flash of a spell. There's nothing here to fight, though. Very strange…Shrugging once more, Raine caught up to him just as he approached the camping area.
"We should move out," Kratos said, gathering his pack from underneath the makeshift cover.
"Er, yes, I suppose so," Raine replied, wondering what they would do now.
"I know that figuring out why Zelos' sister was after you is of crucial importance, but we should go inform Sheena of Kuchinawa's once-again murderous intent."
She nodded. "Understood. To Mizuho, then?" Kratos just started walking along the path in the opposite direction from whence they had came. "Kratos?" she asked, "I think you're going the wrong way."
Kratos turned and stared. "How do you know?"
Raine opened her mouth to quote some encyclopedia or other resource, but found herself without one. She blushed, lowering her voice in embarrassment. "Well, the last time we– I went through here, we…"
"You what?" the angel inquired tauntingly.
"…we just guessed."
"Well. My guess is that the correct direction is this way," he replied, continuing on in his direction. Once again without map to quote, Raine found herself following like a puppy.
Ugh, this makes me so…mad! Now I see where Lloyd gets his indignant attitude. Rolling her eyes, Raine was jolted out of her reverie when she heard Kratos say something. "Did you just cast First Aid?" she wondered.
"No. I asked, 'Which way?'" he replied, motioning to the two paths ahead.
Raine stared at him. "But I could have sworn that you just healed yourself!" Watching for any signs of guilt, she was only met with his signature emotion-defying hair in return. Not again! "Whichever way you think is best, Mr. Supreme Guesser." She watched as he turned away once again and followed the left path. They continued in this manner for about half an hour, Kratos picking whichever way suited him, and Raine following.
"I think we're going the wrong way," Raine finally spoke up, looking behind her to see how far back the last fork in the road was. Kratos did not stop, however. "Kratos! Are you listening to me?" She turned around, running to catch up and putting her hand on his right shoulder. "Kratos!" Spinning him around, she gasped.
The angel's complexion was a sickly green color. Raine looked around for the source of the strange tint. She eventually found a rip in his pants around the back of his calf, and the visible skin there was also green. "What happened!" she demanded. But she was not given an answer, as the angel soon collapsed forward onto her. Her eyes widened as she tried to hold him up, but soon failed. With an "Mmrph!" of surprise, Raine fell backwards, Kratos on top of her.
Raine's eyes widened once again as she realized what position they were in. Her face took on a dark pink hue as she thought, Dear Goddess Martel, what have I done to deserve this? "Kratos! Kratos! WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT ANGEL!" To her great disappointment, there was no response. Trying with all her might to push the 172-pound seraphim off of her, she finally succeeded in rolling the two of them over so that their positions were reversed. Blushing even harder, Raine scampered up and ran ten feet away.
After regaining her composure, the half-elf returned to Kratos' side. "Kratos?" There was still no answer. Raine became a bit worried after this. What's wrong with him? Checking the back of his right leg, she discovered the source of his green complexion: the poisonous cut on the back of his leg. Resisting the urge to smack him upside the head, Raine yelled, "Why didn't you say anything!"
Glaring at him, she realized his emotion-defying hair had fallen to the side as a result of their little…escapade. Shuffling over so she was by his shoulder, she stared at his face. He looks so…innocent, almost. Like an…angel. Raine continued staring until she realized what she was doing and blushed. (Again.) What am I doing! she mentally slapped herself. He's green, for Martel's sake! He might be dying! Shoving all previous thoughts aside, she checked for a pulse and found it at a slow fortybeats per minute.Should angels even have a pulse? This is all very interesting. I must record my findi-FOCUS! Getting to her feet, Raine took her staff and shouted, "Purify!"
Raine watched as the green color washed out of his complexion and was replaced with the normal, peach-like coloring. Suddenly, Kratos opened his eyes.
"…"
Raine was so transfixed by his non-hair covered face that she kept staring, even as he sat up.
"Is there something on my face?"
Realizing what she had done, the healer shook her head frantically, blushing all the while. "No, nothing's wrong," she muttered, before going into Punishment Mode. "What were you thinking! You were poisoned, Kratos! You could have died! I understand now! You didn't have any Panacea bottles, so as the poison slowly drained your strength, you kept healing yourself! And then when you ran out of magic…" She paused for a dramatic effect, staring him down. It was then that she realized…
Kratos was blushing.
Raine blinked. Blushing? Hohoho! Wait until- A pang of guilt hit her. Crouching down, she sighed. "Just because you can't feel something doesn't mean it's not there," she said slowly. "Even if that poison didn't hurt, it was affecting you. If you had just asked, I would have…" She stopped, not knowing what else to say.
"…thank you," came the reply.
Thank you? She thought, bewildered. "It was nothing," she muttered, embarrassed, as Kratos got to his feet, rearranging his hair in the process.
"We've been walking in this forest for about an hour," he stated.
Raine sighed. "Yeah. I don't remember it taking this long last time." Kratos stopped mid-step. What is he doing? "But of course, there's no other way…"
He turned to her. "Or is there?"
Raine shifted her deck brush from one hand to the other. "I don't understand what you mean," she replied nervously.
Kratos walked back over to her, taking her hand with his left and reaching around her waist with his other arm. "Hold on," he instructed.
Raine's eyes widened as she saw, for the second time in her life, Kratos extend his angel wings. They're so…pretty…and so blue…and-ahhhh! With a sudden gust of air, she felt her feet leave the ground. Letting go of his left hand, she clasped both her arms around the angel's neck, closing her eyes tight. Please, don't let me fall. Please, don't let me die.
She thought she heard a small chuckle from Kratos and blushed.
After several minutes, she felt them dropping and held on tighter. Don't fall don't fall don't fall… "Do not be afraid," he said. Raine relaxed slightly as her feet touched solid ground. She slowly let in a breath before realizing the position they were in.
"…"
Embarassed, she stepped away quickly. "Sorry, and, uh, thank you," she said to Kratos' back, as he had turned around after she stepped away.
"Mizuho is this way," he said, walking over the short bridge that separated the entrance to Gaoracchia Forest from the village. Raine followed quickly. Several minutes later, they were at the gate.
"Halt! How do you know of the location of our village? No outsiders are permitted!" barked a guard.
"Don't worry, Yukio. They are our friends," said Orochi as he approached the entrance. "Welcome back, Raine. And this is..?"
Raine turned to Kratos as he stepped forward. "Kratos Aurion."
"Ah, right. Are you Raine's…er…beau?"
Kratos immediately looked downwards at this comment as Raine shook her head wildly. "Uh, no, no, it's not like that! We're friends. Friends!" she shouted, on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Calm down, calm down. Now who's there?" called a familiar voice.
"I think I heard a girl's voice. C'mere, future hunny, the great Zelos is ne-"
There was a large SMACK as the two speakers came nearer. The first, a female with purple hair, was clad in a red robe, the traditional Mizuho dress of the chief. Soon after her the other came into view, a twenty-something man with vibrant red hair and a handon his cheek.
"Ouch, Sheena, that hurt," Zelos whined.
"You deserved it," Sheena replied without even looking back. Turning to the gate, she broke out into a smile. "Raine! Kratos! Welcome back!" she shouted, running over to meet them. "Er.." Her arms were extended for a hug, but she looked around as if searching for permission.
"Oh, Sheena!" a certain red-haired Chosen squealed as he launched himself into her arms. A WUMP was heard as he hit the ground. "Ow.."
"Hello, Sheena," Raine said, shaking her hand and winking.
The chief smiled and turned to the seraphim. "Kratos," she nodded, shaking his hand as well.
By this time, Zelos had crawled to his feet. Seeing Raine, he shouted, "I was right! The great Zelos always knows when his hunnies are around!" He extended his arms for a hug, but was disappointed when Sheena and Raine walked past, deep in conversation. "Aww." He pursued the two girls, walking after Kratos.
The afternoon passed without much action. Inside the chief's hut, Raine explained to Sheena what had happened to her, and then Kratos told her about Kuchinawa. Zelos pouted, remarking that it was "too bad that I couldn't be your knight in shining armor, Raine," with a slight glare at Kratos afterward. To no avail, however; he was shunned by the infamous emotion-defying hair that was the angel's.
"That's it. I'm going with you," Chief Fujibayashi announced. The other three stared. "I'll put Tiga in control of Mizuho, but there's no way I'm going to miss helping my friends. Besides, a little activity once every few years never hurt anyone."
"I'll come too," remarked Zelos. "I can't let my hunnies go without protection!" At this remark, Raine quickly glanced at Kratos, but saw nothing written on his face. She sighed.
"Well, I don't really see why not. We need all the help we can get."
Sheena grinned. "Then it's settled."
Oddly enough, Zelos was deep in thought. "But that doesn't sound like something Seles would do," he said quietly.
Sheena nodded slightly. "And I don't think Kuchinawa would act like that, either. No matter how much he…hates…me."
Kratos nodded. "All the more reason to discover the source of these attacks."
Raine yawned, staring out the window. "Wow, it's getting dark," and indeed it was. Dusk had come and gone, and the small lanterns surrounding the village paths had been lit.
"You're right," Sheena said with a nod. "I sleep in here," she said, motioning to a back room, "and Zelos was using this room. He's been visiting for about a week," she said in answer to Kratos and Raine's questioning looks.
"I can sleep outside," the healer volunteered. "It's not often that I get to look at the stars."
"I'll sleep outside too, then!" Zelos piped up.
"NO, thank you," Raine replied quickly.
"Okay, I'll get you a mat and some blankets. What about you, Kratos?"
Not too eager at the prospect of sharing a room with Zelos, the angel said, "I'll stay outside as well."
Sheena looked between the two very quickly, then shrugged. "Okay then, two mats it is. Zelos, make yourself useful and come help me. You two can go find places outside."
Raine got up as Kratos did the same, heading outside near the garden. She picked out a spot near the garden while the seraphim continued wandering around.
"There you guys are!" Sheena commented. "You both can sleep over here," she said, unable to see the two's questioning stares. "You could sleep facing eachother. You know, feet in the middle. I just wouldn't want to see you sleeping on one of the paths. They're just so…dirty," she added quickly.
"Er, okay," Raine said, not wanting to speak up.
"…"
Raine grabbed a mat from Sheena and two blankets from Zelos before proceeding to set her bed out. Kratos did the same.
"See you tomorrow, guys!" Sheena shouted as she walked back to the hut with Zelos.
"Bye, hunny! And…you other guy," Zelos said.
Raine stretched out, staring at the sky. Suddenly, a thought struck her.
"Kratos, how did you know where Mizuho was? You weren't with us before.."
"You tend to learn a lot over four thousand years."
"Oh, right…sorry."
A few minutes passed as Raine's embarrassment returned to normal levels.
"Kratos?"
"…yes?"
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Raine."
Author's Note: Finally, I have another chapter up! Many apologies for the long wait. I was on an out-of-state vacation for forty days, and afterwards I had to catch up on schoolwork. I made this chapter longer than the last, though, so don't be too upset! Heh. And like always…review, review, review, please!
And for those who have reviewed, here are a few responses as a reward for reading this chapter, too.
Scarlet Kratos: Thanks!
Fenrir Hellfyre: Heheh, I thought so too. I hope you liked this chapter!
Tenshi no Namida: I've just played the game through a second time, and I saw more of Seles (I chose Zelos instead of Kratos, sadly). Anyway, I'm trying to work on the villain problem. Thanks!
E.S. Simeon: "Er…" is right. But imagining Raine in the Judgment outfit is funny all the same!
Miss Raine Sage: Thanks! I like "The Battle of Raine," by the way. I've just been too lazy to review it as of yet..
Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do: Thank you.
Yukashi Tenshi: Yeah, sorry about the long wait. I hope you liked this chapter, though!
WhiskersIsMyCat: Darn, one error. :P I hope this chapter didn't have you too lost!
Thanks again, and...review!