Welcome to chapter 6!

And instead of talking to no end and explaining this and that and blah blah blah I will jump right into the story.

I do not own the characters of the locations of Tales of Symphonia.

Anna was sitting on a small rock and was watching the rising sun. It was quite warm for such an early hour. Well, for her it was. She had never been this far south. The wind rustled through the leaves of the small trees behind her. Anna could see the ocean. The sun painted the water red and orange. It looked like the sea was burning. The sight of the water somehow comforted her. She had always loved water, of course for someone who grew up in Luin that wasn't very unusual.

There were already some sea gulls flying over the water and their clamour filled the air. How peaceful! I can't remember the last time I've seen something that beautiful! She smiled and leaned her head a bit forward to feel the sunshine on her face. After her time in the ranch every small thing even if it was completely trivial was a new experience. Sometimes Anna felt like a child that saw the world for the first time. And today this feeling was stronger than ever.

Last night everything she had believed in had turned out to be a lie. Two worlds instead of one and damnation where salvation should have been. An Angel had told her all this and that didn't make things easier. This angel will make everything even more complicated! Yeah, complicated was the Angel that lo…liked (she didn't even dare to think that word without being sure that it was true) her too much to kill her would cause her definitely some problems.

She sighed heavily. "How am I supposed to get through this if I don't even have a goddess to talk to? He shouldn't have told me that" Anna snuffled "Don't blame him! You wanted an answer! He gave you one. Still…" She shook her head and watched the waves of the ocean for a while. To think that all this wasn't created by a goddess…It's so strange and hard to believe. But…everything he said about angels, Desians and even the chosen one made sense. Although it's more complicated than everything I've heard before.

She ran her fingers over her lips. Kissed by an angel… She smiled faintly I always imagined that in a different way. To be honest she had dreamed about that kiss, quite a lively dream actually. Of all things she could worry about that was the thing that bothered her the most. Well, rather that was the only problem she could solve right now, although problem wasn't the right word for it.

That wasn't the first time someone told (or rather showed) her how he felt, but this time it had been…slightly different. For the first time Anna had no idea how to handle that. She didn't even know if she felt the same way! And that made it even more complicated than it was already.

Okay, think about it logical. What do you know? He's a four thousand year old angel who is a founding member of the organisation that is basically ruling the world…s. Do you like him? Yeah, I guess I do. Do you think that he's attractive? Well, in a way…alright, maybe he is a little bit more attractive than the average. Do you feel comfortable around him? Yes, I do. Do you feel save? Yeah, I feel safe. Okay, now the most important question: Are you happy around him?...Actually…sometimes…I'm even able…to forget for a while…what I've been through…

Ahh…screw logic! Emotions are not logical! You know it when you know it! Anna stood up and stretched. The sun was shining and the last clouds vanished. It was going to be a wonderful day with a perfect blue sky. She turned around and wanted to go back, but then she saw Kratos standing behind her. She would have fallen if he hadn't caught her. "Damn! Why do you keep doing that?" she asked angrily "I told you to stop that! My heart always skips a beat when you sneak up on me!"

"What are you doing so early in the morning?" he asked instead of answering her question. She rolled her eyes and replied "I woke up early and I wanted to think about…certain things before we start travelling again." "It is quite unusual for you to be up so early" he answered. It was really rather unusual for her. She had always been a late riser with the amazing ability to sleep anywhere anytime (despite the nightmares).

"Well, I just slept well and…" Anna suddenly stopped. "I didn't have a nightmare…" she whispered surprised. She realised that everything what she had heard yesterday had been so much that in her head there hadn't been space for a nightmare.

"I…I slept…through!" she said, while her smile was getting bigger and bigger "I…didn't dream of the ranch or Desians or…or Kvar! The first night without a nightmare!" Now Anna was just…laughing. That a simple undisturbed sleep could cause happiness like that was quite unbelievable. Suddenly she just hugged him, because for her there was no other way to express her joy. "This is so unbelievable! A night without those horrible memories! I…I can't describe how happy I am right now!"

She kept babbling like this for a while. Then she let him go. Anna wasn't laughing anymore, but there was still a bright smile on her face. "What were we talking about? I guess I forgot it" she asked him. Kratos seemed to be so surprised that he wasn't able to answer for a while.

"I asked you what you were doing so early."

"I was thinking about…well, everything you told me last night."

"Did it help?"

"After thinking about it for a very long time I came to the conclusion that I'm screwed." And she said that still smiling.

"And why are you so happy about that?"

"Hmm…good question. Well, does this knowledge change my situation at all? No, it doesn't. Okay, if someone of…Cruxis would find out that you told me that it would be different, but right now it doesn't matter actually. I'm still a host body and I'm still running away from Kvar. I just have now a little…background information. I mean my whole worldview was destroyed and everything, but well, I have to except that."

"Yesterday you thought about that differently."

"You're right. But now I've calmed down. I still feel betrayed and everything, but I'm no longer…overwhelmed. But don't think I'm letting you get away this easily. I have millions of questions and you better answer them."

He looked at her with his usual calm look then he asked "You said that you are screwed. What did you exactly mean by that?" Oh dear! Not this topic!

"Well, I…I…I have no idea what I should do now. Until yesterday I thought it would be enough just to get to Izoold and to live on, but now…I think it's not enough."

"What do you mean?" Kratos sounded confused.

"I'm not sure how to explain that. Now that I know all this, I see everything differently. Like you said I'm not able to live a normal life anymore….And…I would feel so…guilty if I would just…leave."

"Guilty? Because of what?"

"Because of…you. You are…what you've said and what you've done, it's holding me back. I don't know what I should think or how I feel about it. And until I know I can't leave."

He just turned around and answered "There is no reason why you should stay with me. You owe me nothing." Again she rolled her eyes. Melodramatic as ever! Then she walked around him, so he could look into her face.

"And exactly because you say something like that, I'm not going. You sound so sad when say something like that. Actually you always sound sad no matter what you say. Like only living is a burden for you. For example when I said that I…like you; maybe even a bit more than just like, you looked like you…you…well, like you wouldn't deserve that. You behave...different than any person I've ever met."

And slightly she touched his left cheek with her hand and smiled. It's a bit strange. His skin feels warm and yet cold. Like the warmth of his body was held back. Weird… But if feels nice! Quite nice! "But of course if I'm getting on your nerves too much, I'll leave. I promise." Then she made a step backwards and said "We should get going. It's still not a short distance till we arrive at Izoold. And the sun already rose."

After a few steps she realised that he wasn't following her. "Are you coming?" she asked "I mean I can find the way to Izoold by myself now but travelling alone is so boring. And you know how I hate boredom." Anna looked at him with a curious look. Why does he look so thoughtful? Well, more thoughtful than usual. Then Kratos answered "What you've said to me doesn't make any sense, no matter how long I think about it."

Anna smiled and said "Actually what I said is quite normal for a human especially for a women. You seem to have problems to understand me particularly when I say something nice to you. We should work on that." She turned around and started walking. "And maybe I'm willing to explain you what I meant later. Although that depends on how you answer my questions." Now Kratos followed her, but, quite silently, he said to himself "Is there actually anything in this world that could get her down for longer than just five minutes?"

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

Just a little information there will be a bit of Kratos' point of view now. But still it won't be completely his point of view. I don't like to write it like that completely, because I have absolutely no idea what a four thousand year old angel is thinking.

"So….What's the difference?" Anna asked after half an hour of walking "I mean the difference between humans and angels especially…how was it called?...Seraphim!" Kratos was walking beside her. Anna was walking backwards so she could look into his face and see his reactions to her questions.

There was a soft breeze and Anna's chocolate brown hair streamed out behind her. Her sharp, hazelnut eyes were watching him closely and made him feel a bit uncomfortable. It always felt like she could see right through him. This strange feeling like she could read his mind. Not even the look of Yggdrassil had that effect. And in a way her somehow curious look forced him to answer. Her most annoying ability. "Angels have neither feelings nor human needs. They are empty to a certain extent" he answered.

"No emotions? Really? How does that work?...And what do you mean with "human needs"?" Anna asked surprised. She tilted her head like a bird giving her already soft face an even sweeter look. He sighed. "The Cruxis Crystal attached to their bodies absorbs their soul taking everything that is alive away. Due to that fact they lose their ability to feel, to eat and to sleep. They are lifeless. They don't even think."

"But you aren't like this! You feel! You aren't lifeless! And you think more than ever person I've ever met."

"That's because I'm a Seraph."

"And what's the difference between a Seraph and an angel?" She sounded impatient.

"I use a key crest and that prevents the Crystal from taking my soul. …But except that there's no difference if you don't count the difference in power."

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that for four thousand years you haven't been eating or sleeping?"

He just nodded.

Anna's eyes widened. She seemed quite shocked. "Oh my g….That's….I can't…believe it! How did you survive that? I would have gone insane after a few days!"

But before he could answer her, she said "But…does that mean you don't feel as well? You have emotions, I know that, but do you feel the warmth of the sun or the touch of….my hand for example?"

She looked confused and worried. And there even was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "No, I do feel things like that. They are just not as intensive as you would feel them." The truth was that her touch was more intensive for him than anything else. A slight burning remained where she had touched him. It was strange and confusing that a simple human could cause this kind of feelings.

A smile appeared on her face after he had answered her. It was a…pleased smile. A reaction that was for him more than just unexpected. "Well,…that's good to know. I mean…at least that proves that I was right about you the whole time. You are no human, well, rather not completely."

"And you are proud of that?"

"…Maybe a little…" Again she smiled. How could someone who had been through so much pain smile that often? "Hey, could you please tell me more about the Giant Kharlan Tree? That was the only thing that didn't sound horrible and devastating. And I find it fascinating that this fairy tale is actually true" she asked, while running her hand through her hair.

"To tell you everything I know about the Giant Tree would require a lot of time" Kratos answered "And I doubt you have a long enough attention span." "Hey, that's mean! I can focus! Okay, I admit sometimes I don't pay attention when you say something, but if I want to I can keep listening for hours! Besides it's not my fault that I'm not listening when you always talk about something depressing" she said a bit angry and a bit amused. "If you say so…" he answered "I will tell you."

Since everyone who is reading this should know about the Giant Tree I will spare you a long explanation that would probably be a whole page long. Besides I have better a use for this space. So consider this insert as a little time skip.

"Wow! That was a lot!" Anna stated after he had finished. Kratos didn't answer. He seemed to be as gloomy as yesterday, after he had told her the truth about this world. "Has anyone ever told you that you have an incredible calm and pleasant voice?" she asked to change the subject.

"Not that I remember."

"But you have! I can keep listening to it for hours and I don't say that because I have to" Anna said giggling. But she was completely honest. After some moments looking at his face she meant "You don't believe me, do you? But I meant that." Anna looked at him a bit longer, sighed and said "You are hopeless! Why don't you believe me?" "I never said that I wouldn't believe you" he answered.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "You know what I meant. You just don't want to hear something nice!" Kratos didn't respond and Anna groaned. "I'm trying to have a conversation with you, but that doesn't work if I'm the only person who is talking!"

"And what do you want to talk about?"

"Anything! But this silence is just horrible!"

"What's wrong about silence?"

"Well,….alright there's nothing wrong about silence, but it's boring!"

"You are very easily bored."

"You would be too if you had so much energy as I have."

"I highly doubt that."

She giggled.

"What are you laughing about?"

"I've just imagined you excited about something."

"And that amuses you?"

"Yeah, it does! You are always so serious and…let's call it thoughtful. To imagine that you would be excited about something is just very…amusing."

"It's something very unlikely. You're right about that."

"…When was the last time you actually were excited or happy about something?"

"I can't think of something right now."

Now Anna looked insulted and angry. Very angry!

"Oh, really? You can't remember a single past event that would have caused you joy?"

"What do you…"

"I mean this!" And without any further warning she kissed him. Kratos really wasn't used to something like this! Her lips on his causing a burning feeling that spread through his whole body.

Anna had intended to kiss him briefly and then to slap him right after that, but she…wasn't so angry at him anymore. Damn! You wanted to stay furious! That you let him get away this easily…A bit more self control wouldn't hurt you! But she didn't feel the need to stop the kiss and enjoyed the feeling a bit longer.

This woman was the most incalculable person he had ever met. Someone who was shouting at him in one moment and in another kissing him. Confusing was a far too small word for this situation. For some moments his thoughts stopped then she let go.

"So…you are saying that you felt nothing when I kissed you yesterday?" she said still angry, but not as furious as before. Her cheeks were slightly red and even though she tried to repress it a smile played on her lips.

"I…" And for the first time he really had no idea how to answer that.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my…You are…you are speechless! You aren't able to answer that! This is so…no, there's no word to describe this!" And her anger vanished and now she was laughing again. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but you're somehow really cute."

"…"

"I know, I know! I shouldn't call a four thousand year old angel…sorry, Seraph, cute, but it describes you so well!"

"Could you please stop that?"

"Does it really bother you that much that I…"

"No, not this. I mean…distracting me. I'm still responsible for your safety. And something like this is not exactly helping me to focus."

He had expected her to be insulted, but a grin appeared on her face.

"So you mean that I make it for you impossible to concentrate?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. I could say the same about you and I don't complain."

"What?"

"And I did it again. I'm sorry I can't help it" Her smile was playful. "You are flattering me when you say something like that. I guess it's pretty hard to distract someone like you."

"You shou…"

"No, now you're listening! Do you really think I'm able to actually stop distracting you? Let me tell you something: I'm not able to do that, because when you're in love, and I think you are, you are always distracted by this person. This is just a normal human emotion that can't be helped. I mean I could stop kissing you, but, now be completely honest, do you really want that?"

There came no answer.

"That's what I thought. What's so bad about it anyway? And before you answer I promise that I won't distract you for a while. Alright?"

"Alright."

They started walking again. "Although…"she said after a few seconds "I can give you no guarantee that, since I'm a simple human being, my mind won't lose the control over my body."

"You really enjoy doing this, do you?"

"You mean teasing you? Yeah, it's great fun!"

And suddenly she fell on her knees. A terrible burning spread in her chest. Shit!…Not this again! Why now? I didn't feel any negative emotion! Anna felt how some old scars were torn open. The Crystal had done that quite often in the past especially when her time in the ranch hadn't been as painful as usual. It was trying to cause more pain and to absorb more energy. This thing was not pleased with the amount of energy it was getting right now. In moments like this she was reminded of the fact that the Exsphere was alive and…thinking. It happened suddenly and it couldn't be prevented. The burning vanished after a few moments. Only leaving the pain of her open wounds.

"Are you alright?" Kratos asked and sounded more concerned than ever. "Yeah,…I'm…alright. The…Crystal does…that sometimes. It's…it's nothing to worry about" she answered, but didn't sound very convincing.

"You are bleeding" he said. Anna looked over her shoulder and saw, that her shirt had several crimson red spots. "Oh…well, that's normal. Everything will heal on its own" she replied.

"I should take a look at it…"

"NO!" she said shocked and moved away from him. No, he shouldn't see her back. It was enough that Noishe knew how disgusting it looked like. No one should see it! "I…I mean can't this wait till tonight? I'm sure it will be fine then. Like I said, it's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? It looks quite serious."

"I've been through this quite often. It's nothing."

"I really should…" but after a second he moved his hands towards her back she stopped them. "Please, don't! Trust me; it's not necessary to treat my back. It really isn't!" she said insistent "It can wait till tonight. I had worse wounds. It doesn't even hurt." Kratos didn't look convinced, but he answered "Alright. I'll wait until tonight."

Okay, that's really not a good cliff hanger. I'm not even sure if I can call it like that. But this chapter is already quite long.

Anyway, reviews are appreciated and thanks for reading!