Summary
Two years ago, Sheena Fujibayashi made a wish. Now that someone has granted it, will she finally be able to say to him what she hadn't been able to saw before he left? Sheena x ??
Fanfic Key
/---/ in italics Character thinking to themselves or a telepathic voice.
"---" and text in italics A flashback or memory.
The Power of One Wish
Chapter Three
It always bothered me how much you hated yourself.
Across the grassy plain Sheena ran as fast as she could. Her heart, though weighed down greatly by grief and sorrow, still beat loud and clear within her chest.
How could someone harbor that much self-loathing toward himself?
Sheena's footsteps echoed clearly through the empty plain, but were soon joined by the sound of another pair of feet running after her. Glancing over her shoulder, she could vaguely make out whom it was chasing after her with such determination.
"Sheena!!" As Zelos' voice echoed clearly throughout the countryside, Sheena's eyes widened in shock.
How could you stand living with such pain and grief locked away deep within your heart?
"Sheena! Stop!!" He had forgotten how fast this particular kunoichi from the hidden village of Mizuho could run, and found himself having to use a lot of his strength to keep up with her. "I want…to talk to you!!"
I hated you for keeping that pain from me. I hated you for acting like nothing was wrong.
"Sheena! Come on! Stop! It's too early to go on a cross-country run!!"
"If you're so tired, why don't you go back then?!" Sheena shot a glance back at Zelos and was even more surprised to see how much he had closed the gap between.
"Not until you stop and talk to me!" Zelos shouted to the kunoichi still a good distance in front of him.
You were always there to help others when they were in pain…so why didn't you let anyone help you with yours?
Sheena wanted to stop running…she wanted to stop and tell Zelos everything. But each time she would try, a little voice would tell her to keep running and her body would follow its command.
"Where am I going? Why…am I running?" Sheena whispered into the wind. Before her she could see a large grassy hill. "What…awaits on top of that hill?"
/Your wish, Sheena Fujibayashi./
"Sheena!!"
/Just a little further…keep going…/
And as if another outside force was controlling her, Sheena began to ascend up the hillside.
/Don't stop…not till you reach the top…/
"Why?"
"Sheena! Stop!"
/Only a few more steps Sheena, just a little further…/
When Sheena did reach the top, a bright light instantly struck her. The wind that had been blowing so gently not so long ago began to pick up such speed, Sheena felt herself being pushed back.
"Wh-what…is this?!" Turning away from the light, Sheena tried to remain standing against the wind, but felt herself beginning to fall back.
"Sheena!" Before she could hit the ground, Zelos reached out and caught her. He helped her steady herself as the strong wind pushed against them both. "There's something wrong here. Come on…we have to go back to the others."
"Z-Zelos?"
"Who else would I be? Now come on! Let's go, it's dangerous here!"
As Zelos grabbed her hand, Sheena felt a pulse move through her entire body. Slowly she turned her head back to where the rising sun should've been, but saw instead the strange girl she had met earlier.
/Sheena…/ Slowly the strange girl reached a hand out to Sheena, a gentle but sad expression on her face.
And that's when Sheena realized what was happening.
Sheena's grip on Zelos' hand tightened, causing him stop in his tracks and look back at her.
"Sheena? What is it? What's wrong?"
Slowly Sheena raised her head and despite how badly her body was trembling, how completely afraid she felt on the inside, she gave him a gentle smile.
"Sheena?"
"I'm sorry Zelos…for putting you through all this…" As she looked up at him, Sheena could feel the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.
Zelos stared down at her in confusion as Sheena wrapped both her hands around his and held them as tightly as her trembling fingers would let her.
"But I…just wanted to see you once more…"
"What are you talking about Sheena?"
I was always on your side, Zelos. Even when you betrayed us…when we clashed in battle, I knew that deep down inside…your reasons for doing so were just…
With the tears continuously falling down the side of her cheeks, Sheena removed her right hand from upon Zelos' hand and reached up to touch his cheek.
"You were always a stupid…perverted idiot." Looking up into Zelos' confused blue eyes, Sheena did her best to remain smiling despite how much pain she felt in her heart. "But I knew that deep down inside…you were a good person."
"Shee--" Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, the ground shook so violent it caused them both to lose their footing. Sheena fell, landing on her side while Zelos was pushed a few feet away from her by the wind.
For a moment Sheena lay on the ground, her side crying out in terrible pain. Biting her bottom lip, she picked herself up off the ground and tried to steady herself as the ground beneath her feet continued to shake violently. She looked around desperately for Zelos and noticed him laying face down on the ground, several feet from where she stood.
"Zelos!!" As panic began to take over, Sheena began to run toward him. However, she was brought to a halt as the violent shaking of the ground had caused a deep and wide crack to form between them. She looked up at Zelos worried, but was relieved as she saw him slowly begin to sit up. "Zelos."
"Un…" Holding his head in pain, it took the red-haired Chosen a moment for his vision to clear. He looked in confusion for a moment, before his eyes fixed themselves on the deep crack in the ground and Sheena on the other side. "Sheena!!"
I wanted to give you a reason for living.
Running up to the edge, Zelos reached out a hand to Sheena. "Come on, jump! I'll catch you!"
"Are you crazy?! Do you see how wide that crack is?!"
"Oh, come on. You maybe a little fat, but I'm sure you can make it!!"
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" However, her rage towards Zelos' insult quickly subsided. Behind her, Sheena could still feel the presence of the strange young girl.
Just like you had given me a reason to live.
"Sheena!!" When he saw that the kunoichi had not moved from the spot she was standing in and was making not attempts to, he became worried. "What are you doing? Come on!!"
"I love you, Zelos."
In shock Zelos stared at Sheena-the kunoichi from Mizuho-who now stood before him with a calm, gentle expression on her face.
"I wanted to tell you….so many times. But I was always too afraid. And before I knew it…it was too late."
"Sheena…I…."
Before either Sheena or Zelos knew what happened, a strong tremor shook the ground they stood upon. In shock, Zelos watched as the crack separating him from Sheena began to grow wider.
"We can talk about this later!! If you jump now, you can still make it!!" Zelos shouted, still reaching out to her.
"I'm sorry…Zelos." As they grew further and further apart, Sheena's vision became blurred with tears.
"Sheena…"
With her eyes still locked on Zelos, Sheena smiled through her tears. "I love you."
"Sheena!!"
"I really…really love you."
As they continued to be pulled apart, Zelos stared in awe as the light behind Sheena grew brighter and a strange young girl emerged from within it.
"SHEENA!!!"
"I was always on your side Zelos!" Sheena shouted, her body trembling once more from head to toe. "Never…never forget that!!"
/Come Sheena. It's time to go home./ Placing her hand gently on Sheena's shoulder, the strange young girl turned back to the source of light in which she had emerged from.
Sheena gave Zelos the best smile she could as the tears once more began to fall. Slowly she turned away from him and faced the portal before her.
"Sheena…" As Zelos watched her head toward the portal, he felt a strange pulse of energy radiate throughout his body. Suddenly drained of all his strength, he fell to his knees. He clenched his chest tightly as he felt himself struggling to breath and could've sworn that as he looked down at his legs, he saw them going transparent. "S-Sheena…"
Maybe someday…
Sheena could feel her heart slowly breaking once more. In silence she stood before the portal, her tears scattering in the wind.
The strange girl looked at Sheena before turning to face Zelos. With ease she crossed the large gap that had been formed from the land being separated and stood before the gasping Zelos. She knelt before him, placing a hand gently upon his now transparent shoulder.
/I am truly sorry for bringing you here. If you have nothing more to say, then I can put you back to sleep./
His body trembling in pain, Zelos looked up toward Sheena, who just stood at the portal with her back to him. His vision was fading and his body losing strength, but not even that was enough to stop him from rising to his feet.
In another lifetime…
"Sheena…" As his voice whispering her name echoed above the howling wind, Sheena slowly turned to look back at him. His entire body was transparent and slowly fading away and though she wanted to stop him from disappearing…she knew that she couldn't. No matter how much it broke her heart, she couldn't stop the one man she loved the most from disappearing once more. "I…love you…too."
"Zelos."
"I'm sorry…I didn't say it…sooner." And he smiled. Though he was in pain…though he was fading away from existence, he smiled at her.
Zelos gazed up at her for a few more moments before closing his eyes. His body faded away in an instance, turning into golden specks of light that became scattered in the wind. Sheena watched in silence as the specks rose up high into the sky, before disappearing completely from sight.
Moving back to stand beside Sheena, the strange girl placed her hand gently on Sheena's shoulder.
/It's all right, Sheena. He's no longer in pain. He sleeps now…a gentle, peaceful sleep./
We'll be able to see each other again and begin anew.
Sheena remained frozen in silence for a moment, before a smile once more appeared on her face. Gently she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and looking up at the clear blue sky above… "…You idiot…"
-Owari.-
Author's Note
Now I feel depressed after writing this. Which…I guess is good for me because I wanted a depressing ending? XD;; I'm sorry if this story seemed like a short one but I'm thankful for all those who stopped by and bothered to read it and even more grateful to those who left a review, thank you, thank you, thank you!!
In reply to TermsofFanService's comment, I actually forgot what it was that Zelos use to call Sheena. I knew it had something to do with the word 'banshee'. I just couldn't remember the rest of it. Thank you for reminding me what it was!
I actually wanted to post this up when I had the first chapter of my next Sheelos fic done, but I couldn't wait any longer and just had to share with you all now. Once again, thank you to everyone who has read this fic, left a comment, added it to your favorites and whatnot! Thank you and I hope to see you next time!
Disclaimer
I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters presented within the game. They all belong to Namco, Bandai as well as any other companies and/or people I have forgotten to mention here. I am nothing but a simple fanfic writer.