Yin: Well here's the first chapter.
Raine: It's mostly just flashbacks...enjoy!
Kratos: …
Genis: Yin owns nothing except all that was stated in the Prologue plus the plotline.
Yin: Oh…this chapter and the next will be pretty much what Raine did/went through the week before the party.
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Chapter 1: A Walk Down Memory Lane
November 15, Saturday
'A week 'till my birthday the others seem to be…hiding something from me. I must find out what it is'
(Raine's POV)
I found myself wandering the marketplace in Meltokio; looking for an outfit to wear to the party the others were throwing me for my birthday. I told them there was no need for a party but they all insisted in hopes of 'cheering me up'. They seem to believe I've been depressed…I wonder what gave them that idea…; so I gave in and agreed to attend. I wasn't really looking forward to this party; I would have rather spent my birthday curled up in my room with a good book. But alas I find myself scanning Meltokio for a dress.
"Raine, Hi!" came the summoner's voice from a distance. "Hey…wait up!"
"Why, hello Sheena!" I replied with a smile as she caught up. "What brings you here?"
"I was actually looking for you" answered the ninja trying to catch her breath. "Zelos told me you went shopping for an outfit to wear next Saturday, and seeing as I need something to wear myself I though I'd join you."
"I have no objections" I said, yet another smile plastered on my face. "Shall we?" The summoner just nodded in response and we set off.
We must have searched in over two dozen stores before finding the perfect outfits, but we finally succeeded. After buying our dresses, and stopping at a restaurant for dinner, we headed over to Zelos' house were I was going to be staying the following week; seeing as how the others didn't want me anywhere near a certain village where they were holding a certain party.
"Hello my Glamorous Beauty and Voluptuous Hunny," commented the ever perverted Zelos. "How was your day?"
"Fine," replied Sheena, but not before giving him a 'well' deserved slap for his previous comment.
"Ow! Do you have to hit so hard; my precious face" whined Zelos as he rubbed the spot on his face where Sheena hit.
"Sorry Zelos, she's just a little irritated." I apologized rather reluctantly. "Could you please just show us to our rooms? We're kind of tired from shopping." He simply nodded and led us up the staircase to the second floor and into two separate rooms.
"Thank you." I said as he showed me my room.
"No prob, my Glamorous Beauty" and with that he left.
I entered the room, set my dress on a nearby chair and quickly entered the bathroom to bathe. I did so, changed into some orange pajamas, dived under the covers, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, which unfortunately would not last.
(END OF POV)
November 16, Sunday
3:37 am
"Ugh, what's going on down there...?" Said Raine, while getting out off bed to try and find the source of the noise.
Meanwhile in the Living Room…
"He agreed to come, he'll be here Friday," said an anxious Lloyd.
"Oh the Professor's going to be so surprised!" exclaimed a cheerful Colette.
"Lloyd how'd you convince him to come?" asked a curious Genis.
"Yes, please tell us" added an equally curious Presea.
"Um…actually he wouldn't even listen to me…Yuan was the one to finally convince him, I…think." was the Eternal Swordsman's response, followed by a shrug. "I'm just glad he's coming back"
"Yeah, Raine's gonna be pretty happy too, but remember everybody keep your mouths shut until Saturday. Understood?" said Sheena casting an 'evil' look on Zelos.
"C'mon I don't have that big a mouth" said Zelos a little too loud.
"What are you all talking about?" asked Raine, standing at the foot of the stairs, a brow raised in suspicion.
"Oh nothing! Nothing at all!" replied Colette quickly, a little too quickly.
"You sure?" Raine persisted, yawning. "If anything's up you should tell me."
"Nothing's up, really!" said Sheena growing a little nervous. Lying to Raine was no easy task after all.
"Do you really expect me to believe you?" asked Raine, yawning a bit.
Everyone simply nodded. 'Innocent' smiles plastered on their faces.
Raine simply sighed. "Well I don't. But seeing as I can barely keep my eyes open…" Raine chuckled a bit. "Just please…keep it down." They all nodded, and Raine retreated to her bedroom.
'They're acting a little strange' thought the Professor once inside her bedroom. 'They seem to be hiding something…I'll have to find out what…but that can wait till morning'
The professor gave one last yawn and went to bed yet again.
November 17, Sunday
11:48 am
(Raine's POV)
It was almost noon, I promised the others I'd go out to lunch with them. I was late, I'm never late. I quickly scurried out off bed and got ready; by the time I'd finished it was 5 past noon. I ran downstairs and the others (Colette, Lloyd, Presea and my brother) were waiting for me outside Zelos' house.
"Sorry I'm late I guess I slept in," I said with a yawn which was so unlike me, I'm usually the most punctual; but I was having such a great dream about…him. I quickly shook that thought and followed my friends as they led me to the restaurant. The whole way all I could think about was the dream…'Who am I kidding, he's never coming back.' As we reached the restaurant I saw Regal waiting for us at the entrance.
"Ah, you're here!" exclaimed the ex-convict. "Sheena and Zelos are already inside, let's go." We all simply nodded and entered the restaurant.
Once inside we all sat down around the circular table (Zelos, Sheena, Myself, Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Presea, Regal) and a waiter came by and handed us our menus. I saw some tomato themed entrées and let out a small giggle 'he hated tomatoes.'
::FLASHBACK::
"Ok, dinners ready," shouted Genis as he urged the group to come get their servings.
"What's for dinner?" Colette chirped happily.
"Yeah, I'm starving!" said Lloyd, stomach growling like mad.
"It's spaghetti and…well you know the rest," Genis said, less enthusiastic than before.
Kratos suddenly gulped "Spaghetti, that means tomato sauce…" he mumbled to himself, before blurting out, "Um…I'm not all that hungry"
"Well can I have Kratos' share?" asked Lloyd, his stomach going insane.
"Well alright" replied Genis, giving Lloyd an extra portion.
"Thank…you" said Lloyd between mouthfuls.
Raine eyed the Mercenary suspiciously; this wasn't the first time he suddenly felt full…Raine thought back on all the prior mealtimes where he had decided he wasn't hungry…
"Hey Lloyd keep your mouth shut, you're getting spaghetti all over my clothes" yelled an annoyed Sheena as she edged away from where Lloyd was sitting.
"That's it!" Raine thought out loud.
"What's 'it' Professor?" asked Colette, eyeing the Professor curiously.
"Oh nothing Colette, just…thinking out loud is all."
"Oh ok," and with that she returned to her spaghetti.
Later that night…
Kratos had volunteered to be the 'watchman' for the night. He was sitting by the ocean near their campsite; then suddenly he heard footsteps. He gripped his sword tightly, ready to strike at any given moment—
"So, you don't like tomatoes. You could've just said so, you don't have to go hungry," came the voice of none other than Raine Sage.
"I shall not go hungry just because I miss one meal," replied Kratos in his usual tone loosening the grip on his sword.
Raine simply rolled her eyes at the comment and agreed with an "I suppose." They spent the rest of the night talking and staring up at the stars.
::END FLASHBACK::
"Raine…Earth to Raine, you in there?" asked Sheena trying to get my attention.
"Hmm, oh yes I'm sorry, I guess I spaced out for a while huh?" I replied.
"Yeah, you sure you ok my Glamorous Beauty?" came Zelos' voice; followed by a 'SMACK' as Sheena slapped him upside the head.
"Yes Zelos I'm fine, no need to worry," I answered and as soon as those words escaped my lips the waiter came to take our order. Having remembered that night with Kratos, I decided to stay away from the tomato entrées.
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About an hour and a half later we were finally out of that restaurant; Regal, Lloyd, Colette, and Sheena excused themselves as soon as they reached the Wilder residence. They had to finish putting up the decorations for my party and make sure that every thing was perfect. This was after all, according to them anyways, one birthday that I wouldn't soon forget.
The next two days on Symphonia were pretty much uneventful; I did my best to get that little secret from the night before out off my comrades, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, on Derris Kharlan…
"I can't believe I'm going back, it's been two years. I wonder how everyone's been; how Raine's been," he asked himself while getting every thing ready for his departure. Sigh. "I can't believe I'm actually feeling this way again…Raine…" the Seraph picked up a picture of the group that was taken after the journey; "she probably hates me for what I did, but I swear I'll make it up to her…" Said the Seraphim, while tightly clutching a small silky box and slipping it into his pocket. And after making sure he had everything he needed he lied down on his bed and drifted into thoughts about the coming event.
Back on Symphonia…
I was walking around Zelos' place seeing as I was imprisoned there until my birthday. I took every chance I got to ask any one of my friends why I couldn't leave the damn house; and they al gave me the same answer "It's a surprise." I grew tired of this and decided to just go back to my memories of him.
(END OF POV)
::FLASHBACK::
It was a dark stormy day; and our heroes were trying to stay alive, as usual.
"Dammit, we're surrounded!!" yelled Lloyd from a distance.
"Tidal Wave!" Genis' voice could be heard near Lloyd.
"It's no use there's too many of them; we should retreat!" suggested a tired Colette.
"Yes, that would be the wisest thing to do," came the Mercenary's voice.
"Healing Circle! And just how do we do tha-- Ahh!" but the Healer was cut short as an enemy's attack sent her flying into the ocean.
"Raine, no! Quick we have to save her!" came the young Mage's voice. "She can't swim!"
Just as Raine's body touched the water she began to lose consciousness.
"Damnit," growled Kratos as he dove into the water after her. As he reached Raine's body he wrapped his arms around her waist and began to make his way back to the shore. But at that moment a strong wave came and knocked him farther from his destination, that event repeated itself a few times before he decided that his attempts were futile.
'Damnit I have no choice,' thought Kratos as he looked down at the figure in his arms making sure that she wasn't aware of what he was about to do. Reluctantly he 'popped' out his angel wings and quickly flew to the shore. Lucky for him the others were to busy fighting for their lives that they didn't notice Kratos until Lloyd landed one final attack and killed off the last of the thugs that had attacked them. Kratos gently set Raine down and cast a simple healing spell...
---0o0---
Raine slowly opened her eyes and pushed herself up; she quickly took in her surroundings. It was almost dawn; she could see Kratos sitting at the edge of the campsite, suddenly the events of the night before replayed themselves in her head. She remembered seeing a small light before losing all consciousness. Slowly she got up and walked towards Kratos; as she approached him Kratos quickly got up as he heard her coming, and instinctively unsheathed his sword and held it up to her neck. Raine held her breath as he lowered said weapon upon noticing who the person was.
"I see you're awake, how are you feeling?" he asked, sitting back down.
"Fine, thank you for saving me," replied Raine sitting down beside Kratos.
"It was nothing, you are after all an important part of this group," said Kratos giving her an unseen smile.
"I suppose you're right, thank you again," said Raine smiling as well, and placing a small kiss on his cheek. Blushing profusely Raine got up and made her way back to the campsite; leaving a dumbfounded Kratos to wonder why in Martel's name had she kissed him.
::END FLASHBACK::
November 18, Tuesday
8:36 am
"Raine, hey Raine…wake up," said Genis as he poked his sister shoulder.
"Huh, who's there?" said Raine rubbing her eyes.
"Raine, wake up!" repeated Genis this time shaking his sister slightly. "It's time for breakfast."
"Huh, what are you talking about?" asked the Healer as she shot up in her bed.
"You slept all day yesterday, it's Tuesday."
"What?!" asked Raine looking out her window then her alarm clock. "Well why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"Well you were sleeping so peacefully we thought it better this way" answered Sheena from the doorway. "You must've been dreaming some good dreams to have slept so soundly."
"You have no idea," breathed Raine, she shook her gently, and then added, "Um…if you don't mind; I'd like to get changed."
"O.k., c'mon Genis" the young mage simply nodded and followed Sheena, closing the door behind him. Stretching Raine got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.
(Raine's POV)
'Just four more days till my birthday, I wonder what the others have planned and I need to figure out who or what they were talking about the other night,' I quickly devised a plan to get said information.
I got out off bed and headed to the kitchen, once there I found my first 'victim'.
(End of POV)
"Why hello Lloyd." Raine said trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Uh, hi Professor, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Lloyd; stuffing a pancake into his mouth, seemingly creeped out by the 'ruin mode' look she was giving him "Do I have syrup on my face or something?"
"Of course not Lloyd, I just wanted to ask you something," replied Raine changing the expression on her face from weird to Colette-like (which was still kind of weird).
"Oh ok, ask away," said Lloyd stuffing down yet another pancake.
"I was just wondering what you have planned for my birthday party. It's nothing too extravagant right?" she asked, a little too anxious. But Lloyd didn't notice that as he was washing down the pancakes with syrup.
"What's extravagant mean again?" he asked, completely clueless as always.
"It's not going to be too big, is it?" she asked again, rephrasing her question for Lloyd.
"Oh. Nope, just all of our close friends." Said Lloyd, thinking
"By our closest friends you mean: Colette, Sheena, Genis, Presea, Regal, Zelos, and yourself?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it, and we invited Kate too. Plus Zelos is bringing Sakura his new girlfriend and Yuan's coming too, and just like Zelos he's bringing a girl." Lloyd replied.
"All right, s- Wait, Yuan has a girlfriend!" Raine said completely shocked at the news and forgetting the reason that she came to the kitchen.
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either; I laughed so hard when Sheena and Colette told me. I thought they were playing a practical joke or something; then Colette said that hey were serious and I almost passed out. Anyways, the only three that met her were: Sheena, Regal and Colette when they went to give him his invi…ta…tion…Professor? I guess she left," Lloyd shrugged it off and continued his eating.
In the Living room…
"Hello Professor, how are you?" chirped Colette, care-free as ever.
"I'm fine Colette thank you for asking."
"No problem."
"Colette is it true?!" asked Zelos rushing through the doors that connected the living room to the dinning room like a maniac.
"Is what true Zelos?" asked Colette confused from the red-head's question. He calmed down a bit and asked the question again this time more specifically.
"Is it true, that Yuan has a girlfriend?!"
"Oh that. Yeah. She's really sweet too, and she's strong and smart as well. I like her. She's going to be at the party this Saturday so everyone can meet her."
"I can't believe that four-thousand-something year old bastard actually got a girlfriend," was all that Zelos said before rushing out of the room to spread the gossip.
"Speaking of the party… who exactly will be attending it?" Raine was planning on asking questions to (almost) everybody until someone blurted out who or what they were talking about the night before.
"Umm...it's going to be: you, me, Lloyd, Genis, Presea, Zelos, and his girlfriend Sakura, Regal, Sheena, Yuan and his girlfriend…Ayame was her name I believe."
"No one else?" asked Raine again. Colette simply shook her head smiling.
"Oh wait; we also invited Kate, Linar, Harley, and Aisha.
"Ok then, and…wait…" something in Raine's head clicked. "Yuan's girlfriend's name is Ayame…is there a last name that goes with that?" Raine asked.
"Well duh silly," replied Colette giggling.
Raine chuckled slightly, "Do you know what it is?"
"No. Why? Do you think you might know her?"
"No it's nothing, anyway-" but alas she was interrupted by the doorbell.
"I'll get that" offered Colette running to the door.
A few seconds later…
"Hey Raine, what's up" asked Sheena, jumping onto the couch and sitting next to Raine.
"Not much, just wondering what you got me for my birthday" said Raine eyeing Sheena hoping to get a straight answer and not the usual-
"It's a surprise" replied Sheena.
"That's what I was afraid of. I hate surprises, can't you at least give me a hint?" asked Raine, giving Sheena the puppy eyes.
"No, but I can assure you that you're going tolove it" said Sheena putting as much emphasis on the word 'love' as possible. With that she got of the couch and headed upstairs.
"Why a surprise?" whined Raine getting off the couch as well and heading for the room. 'What's the point of continuing; the only to people I actually had a chance with were Lloyd and Colette. The only way I could get that secret out of the others would be to threaten them…I'll try Zelos later. And Ayame, could she be the same one… no it's not possible' Raine entered her room and lied down on the bed. She shot a quick glance at her alarm clock: 11:19 am. 'I guess a little nap before lunch wont hurt, it's not like I have anything else to do' thought Raine letting out a small yawn and drifting to dreamland.
Meanwhile on Derris Kharlan…
"Well everything's ready" commented Kratos to no one in particular. "I can't wait to see everyone again. I wonder how they're doing…"
::FLASHBACK::
"Lloyd, use that sword to send me to Derris Kharlan."
"Alright," said Lloyd nodding his head. Kratos is then suddenly pulled into a hug by his son; at first tense but then he relaxed and put his arms around him and hugged back.
"Goodbye…Dad."
"Don't die before I do Lloyd… my son."
::END OF AVERYSHORT FLASHBACK::
Sigh. "In four more days I'll be seeing them all again. I wonder how that'll go." Shifting slightly he closed his eyes and drifted into a less than peaceful sleep.
Back on Symphonia…
(Raine's POV)
I woke up at 12:00 in the afternoon as my alarm clock went off; I headed down to the living room and found Genis and Presea cuddled up in each other arms watching 'The Day After Tomorrow' and decided to leave them alone instead of plummeting them with questions as I'd do the others. Besides it's not like I'd get any info out of them.
I made my way into the kitchen and searched through the fridge until I found it; my chocolate stash. I sneaked out of the kitchen and made my way back to my room; locking the door behind me. Like practically every other woman in the world I love chocolate; though I only eat it when I have a lot on my mind, the chocolaty goodness usually relaxes me. And Martel knows I need it; I feel like something is going to happen on my birthday, something big. I'm probably just overreacting…but still, one can never be too careful. I took a bite of my chocolate and let my thoughts consume me.
"Um…thanks," said Raine looking at the ground.
"It was nothing," the person giggled "Ya know you really shouldn't be out here at this hour." Raine looked up; she stared at the girl.
'She can't be much older than me…can she?'
"Huh, what's wrong?" the girl looked at the young Raine.
"Oh nothing, thank you for helping me," Raine bowed her head in gratitude, "by the way…what's your name?"
"Oh my name's Ayame Fukimura, what's yours?"
"Raine, Raine Sage." Replied Raine calmly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, you're the first half-elf I've met that's my same age!" said the young girl happily, "Oh I gotta go bye…I hope to see you again" with that the girl ran away waving happily. Raine just stood there waving…after a while she made her way back to her house; she set the flowers next to her mother and crawled into bed with her.
:: ANOTHER FLASHBACK::
It was a nice afternoon in Sylvarant, the birds were singing the sun was shining everything was fine. But that sure didn't last. Suddenly an arrow was shot; it landed right next to a 12 year old Raine. As soon as she felt the arrow hit the ground Raine quickly picked up her younger brother and ran. She could hear some men chasing her and her brother but all she knew is that she had to keep running. Soon the men had caught up with her there was nothing she could do. It was three on one seeing as Genis was but a child. Raine knew it was over, there was no way she could take them on; she was far too young and these men were all armed. The biggest of the trio held a sword, the other was the one whom had shot the arrow, and the last one was a scrawny thing and he held a staff. Raine was too tired she wouldn't be able to outrun them…but why were these men chasing her…she hadn't done anything to them. Suddenly one of the men gave out a yell. Raine kept running too afraid to turn around and see what caused the yell. She heard something fall to ground with a thud; still she was too frightened to stop and see what was going on. And yet when she heard a second man fall her curiosity got the best of her. Cautiously she stopped and turned; what she saw was one of the men standing perfectly still looking around as if something was going to appear out of nowhere and strike him down where he stood. And that's exactly what happened; in a matter of seconds the man went from live to dead. He fell to the floor limp and useless and yet…he looked fine. Raine was thankful that the men that were chasing her were dead but she was unsure if the person that did this was friend…or foe…
"I…Is anyone th-there…?" asked Raine scared and holding onto her baby brother tightly.
"Hey, are you okay?" said a young girl coming out of the forest.
"I…I'm fine…who are you?" asked Raine eyeing the girl closely. 'She can't be much older than me…can she?'
"My name's Ayame Fukimura" said the girl giving Raine a huge smile. Raine's eyes opened wide remembering that time in the forest when she was about six.
"Is everything ok?" asked Ayame eyeing Raine curiously.
"Uh… Yeah I'm fine…have we…met before?" asked Raine.
"Hmmm" Ayame eyed Raine closely… "Yeah! You're that girl from the forest; from six years ago!" Raine nodded. "Cool, maybe we'll see each other again," said the girl bowing her head as if saying farewell.
"Maybe," said Raine watching her walk away.
::LAST FLASHBACK::
Raine stood there, on a small island, stone monuments around her. She softly touched one of the stones, tracing her fingers over it. "Mother…" she whispered softly. A tear slowly trickled down her face. Suddenly she heard a slight growl. She slowly reached for her staff just in case. Whatever she had heard was now moving towards her. It 'pounced' and grabbed her staff in its teeth before she could reach it. Raine got up and backed away from the animal slowly. It was a type of wolf. The wolf threw her staff as far away from the two as possible. It was at the edge of the small island and the slightest push might send it into the water. The wolf slowly approached Raine. At the same time Raine slowly backed away. After moving back a couple of feet she hit one of the large stones and the wolf closed in on her. She closed her eyes waiting for what was going to happen. She heard the wolf softly push of the ground towards her. Not a second later she hard the familiar sound of a sword being removed silently from its sheath and a thud. She opened her eyes slowly to see the wolf, dead, on the floor and what appeared to be a girl standing over it. The girl put her sword back in its sheath and turned to Raine.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Um…Yes, thanks to you." Raine eyed the girl carefully.
"No problem," she replied bowing her head.
'She seems slightly familiar,' thought Raine eyeing the girl; and after about a minute something in Raine's mind clicked and her eyes slightly widened.
"Are you sure you're ok?" asked the girl again.
"Um yes…excuse me but what's your name?"
"Ayame, Ayame Fukimura," she replied softly. "And yours is Raine Sage, am I correct?"
Raine simply nodded. The soft hum of rheairds could be heard. Ayame lifted her head up slowly. "I gotta go. I hope we see each other soon." And with that she left without giving Raine a chance to say good-bye.
The others softly landed on the island and bombarded her with questions. Soon after she finished explaining Kuchinawa appeared on the small island. They were forced to pass through the Otherworldly Gate.
::END FLASHBACKS::
'Strange. Every time I saw her I would be in a life threatening situation… though I never did see that girl again after the Otherworldly Gate incident'…I heard Genis calling me to come downstairs to eat lunch; I quickly finished my chocolate and headed down.
(End of POV)
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Yin: Well that was my first chapter…so what do you think…it sucks right…be brutal.
Raine: Don't worry, just wait for the reviews to come in. ::sips piña colada::
Kratos: ...
Zelos: …If they come in.
Yin: Who said you could be here! OUT!
Sheena: C'mon Zelos… grabs his hair and drags him away
Yin: Ooohh! Cookies!! tries to grab one
Genis: Not for you::hits my hand with a spatula::
Yin: Ouch! Meanie! TT