Mr.Who2123: I just had my laptop fixed, and it works like I just bought a brand new one… (drools) I LOVE IT!!!
Kratos: And I assume that means more chapters?
Mr.Who2123: Duh.
Fans: YAY!!
Mr.Who2123: Let's summon someone just for the heck of it…I summon Sanaro!!
Sanaro: Yo! Mr.Who2123 does not own anything related to Tales of Symphonia, but if she did…she would make me in it. Sweet!
Mr.Who2123: Yeah! Let's begin!
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The group, now with the two new members, was headed back down to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. Kratos could now walk on his own, but he was slightly slower than everyone else, but the others didn't mind his handicap, knowing that the Seraphim would do the same for any of them. They had risen and left Sybak before sunrise, and now, after a few minutes of walking, the sky was turning to a light blue of dawn. The air was cool and refreshing, and the six members enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Yuan turned back to his fellow Seraphim, watching with a smile at the quick recovery. It would normally take months for wounds like that to heal, but it has only been a week.
"Hey Kratos, look at your list so you know what you need," the blue haired man suggested, looking back to the road. Kratos curtly nodded and pulled out the sheet from his pack, stopping. Anna looked over from behind his shoulder to look at the list.
"We need a diamond as the jewel for the ring, and white gold to craft the actual ring part," Kratos noted, smirking slightly. "We have the Aionis and Sacred Wood already."
"So we have two of the four parts. Maybe we can find all of the rest in the Toize Valley Mine," Sanaro added as well. His dangling hand suddenly was lifted from Annule putting his nose under it. Sanaro complied with the wolf's silent request and stroked its head. Kratos promptly put away the list, and they kept going, with the Bridge in sight.
There were a few minutes of silence, almost to the point of being awkward, as they made it to the bridge, and walked down its extremely long pathway. A question came into Anna's head, and ended the silence.
"Hey, Sanaro, you know how you said you were super sneaky and stuff?" she blurted, and the said man nodded, not knowing where this would go. "So, can you take this apple from me without knowing?" The brunette woman grabbed an apple from her pack and lifted it for everyone to see.
"Uh, I guess I could…but why?" Sanaro asked, shrugging.
"I just want to see if you can do it…but it sounds like you're too wimpy," Anna mocked, grinning.
"I'm too wimpy huh," Sanaro said back, shaking his head with a small smile himself. Anna's smirk was suddenly wiped off when Sanaro lithely moved behind her at an incredible pace and grabbed the apple from her stunned hands. The whole ordeal took less than one second, as Anna could barely see Sanaro take the fruit from her. Yuan whistled in amazement and Kratos raised his brows very slightly.
Sanaro looked back at everyone's stunned faces.
"C'mon, let's go," he said, and everyone followed, shaking off of their amazement.
With the ten minutes that followed of them traveling over the bridge, the group mingled, talking freely and carefree until they made it across to the Meltokio Continent. When the group met land, they were finishing a conversation that had been going on most of the time while on the bridge. And it wasn't a conversation Kratos particularly liked either.
"Wait a minute…so Kratos and Anna…LIKE each other?" Sanaro asked, grinning form ear to ear. The solemner Seraphim was trying to completely ignore the conversation altogether, but he couldn't help but hear it.
"Yeah, the funny part is that Kratos is practically known for being the 'Lone Wolf' and the heartless guy a long time ago. Mithos and I talked about it all the time," Yuan answered, smiling mockingly back at Kratos, who just HAD to answer that one.
"I'm not heartless, and just because I preferred being alone doesn't mean I do now," he answered, his tone obviously aggravated.
"Yeah, Kratos is actually really sweet when you get to know him," Anna added, putting an arm around the one she loved. Yuan snorted at the comment, but shut himself up at the glare Kratos gave him.
"Alright, the point is, you like each other. Now let's not have a death glare contest, okay?" Sanaro said, pointing out the glare Anna gave to Kratos for glaring at Yuan.
"Whatever," Anna and Yuan said at the same time, while Kratos stubbornly remained silent. Shortly after the silence that followed the conversation, Anna pointed out the imperial city of Meltokio.
"Look! There it is!" she exclaimed, thrusting a finger at the far off city. Because it was so far, most of Meltokio looked extremely dark and gray, and nothing was distinguishable. However, it was undoubtedly the city.
Yuan looked at the position of the sun and judged the time quickly, trying to choose whether to stay in the city or continue through the plains.
"Well, it's about noon time. Do you want to rest at the city or continue until later?" he asked, the question mostly pointed towards Kratos. Anna's eyes brightened and she nodded her head, eager to sleep in the city again. It was quite a fun place, full of shops and even a coliseum. I wonder if Kratos should go in it… she thought, eyeing him.
"Well, I'd prefer to continue, but it looks like Anna wants to stay," he answered, glancing back at her. She immediately nodded, smiling. Sanaro shrugged.
"I don't really care either way," he added, shrugging.
"Looks like we'll be staying," Yuan announced after weighing the decision, and they turned slightly more east to have the city face right in front of them. Anna began to sprint for the city, excited to see it again, and Noishe with Annule followed, tails wagging.
"She's quite a charming one," Sanaro commented, watching her laugh with the wolf and protozoan, and Kratos nodded, smirking.
"I suppose she is," he answered, running a hand through his auburn hair. Yuan smiled as well.
"She almost reminds me of Martel…my fiancée was carefree like her…," he added, feeling himself drift back into his old memories. The three men walked silently together, deep in their thoughts.
"Hey, Kratos, are you going to get married to her?" Sanaro suddenly asked. Kratos froze in his steps, a look of shock on his face, and Yuan shot a worried glance to Sanaro.
"I…I'm not sure," the Seraphim replied unusually quiet, and coughed. The other two could see his face turn a slight shade of pink, only slight enough that they knew Kratos was embarrassed.
Kratos began walking again, except it was strangely fast, like he wanted to get out of the awkward situation. Yuan leaned over to Sanaro and whispered.
"Nice. I've never been able to make Kratos embarrassed in all 4,000 years of our lives, but you make it look so easy," he muttered, so soft, even Kratos couldn't hear it. Sanaro smiled back, shrugging.
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"Two rooms please," Anna asked, dropping a bag of Gald on the counter. The gruff innkeeper, Hunter, opened the pouch and spilled the contents onto the desk. He fingered through it, counting in his mind, and then gathered the money up. After picking the money up and placing it back in the bag, Hunter handed two keys to Anna, who thanked him graciously.
"So Sanaro and I in one room, and Kratos and Anna in the other," Yuan explained, taking one of the two room keys from Anna. As Yuan, Anna, and Sanaro headed for the stairs, Kratos turned the other way, explaining he needed more supplies for the trip to the Toize Valley Mine.
As he walked out, he thought of what Sanaro asked him. Should I get into a closer relationship with her? Will she even accept if I propose too her? He wondered, his hand stroking his chin. They only admitted their feelings a couple weeks ago, and even if it was a strong relationship, love takes time, and cannot be rushed like this.
Kratos absently entered the items shop and approached the front desk. Quickly shaking his thoughts of love, Kratos ordered the specified items, mostly Melange Gels and Life Bottles. After placing the Gald to pay for the items on the desk, Kratos left, shouldering his pack with the new supplies in it.
While walking through town, Kratos began to understand why Anna loved the city so much. There were fenced lawns with accurately cut grass and colorful flowers all over it. A water fountain was placed in the middle of the city, with a sculpture of an angel lifting up its arms. The robe on the stone figure was very articulately made and looked like it took years to make it. The robe that the angel wore was precise in its flow, and in the wrinkles and creases at the arms, and feet, looking like there actually was an angel that turned to stone. The angel was a woman, whom was looking up into the sky, and had an innocent, hopeful look on her face. Water came up from the hands of the sculpture, and fell into the shallow pond in the middle of the fountain.
Kratos studied the sculpture for a moment, appreciating its beauty. I believe Anna has much more natural beauty than that woman, however. They should make a fountain with the face of Anna. It's the best they'll find, he thought, smiling slightly at the stupidity of his own thoughts. Usually, he would have smacked himself for saying that, but Anna had taught him to relax, and enjoy the pleasures of life.
After observing the water feature, the Seraphim turned towards the inn, and walked towards it.
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Sanaro and Yuan entered Anna's room and closed it behind them, not wanting any intruders. The female didn't know they were even there until she turned away from her window at the sound of the door, and noticed them.
"Uh, what are you guys doing in here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuan and Sanaro were both intent on getting the Seraphim and Asgard Ranch escapee together, and they would need to talk to both sides if they were to get this relationship kicking. Sanaro had sparked the whole idea by asking Kratos the embarrassing question, and Yuan and he decided to do it with Anna too.
"Anna, we want to talk about your relationship with Kratos," Yuan sated, folding his arms.
"If you want to marry that man, you're going to have to kick it up a couple notches," Sanaro added, following his fellow Seraphim's example. There was a moment of hesitation, and Anna looked unsure at the two men. "I mean, you do want to marry him, don't you?" Anna blushed a deep scarlet.
"Ye…Yeah," she replied, looking anywhere but the two.
"Then make a move for goddess' sake! I doubt Kratos will, considering he knows next to nothing about love and affections for others," Yuan explained. Anna hated to admit, but he was right; Kratos was a total love newbie.
"Alright, get out. You two are so annoying," she said abruptly, getting up from her bed. Before Sanaro could open his big mouth, she kept going. "I'll think about it, but it's not your business."
"Yes it-," Sanaro began, but the door slammed on him, stopping him in mid-sentence.
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Kratos came into his room at about sunset time, and with the room's window facing west, it was a beautiful sight. It was the first thing he noticed when he walked inside and placed his pack on his bed.
"How was shopping?" Anna asked from her bed, smiling. She was sitting up, but the covers of the bed were pulled back so she could easily get into bed in a couple hours' time.
"Fine," he replied, thinking of the question Sanaro asked earlier on the road. For some reason, he couldn't get it out of his head.
Then, it seemed time stopped as they locked eyes, the dark, sharp eyes of Kratos, and the affectionate hazel of Anna. They held their gaze, all their love showing in those eyes. Then, when they tore their gaze, time seemed to go too fast, and it after some soft talking, it was night.
The two muttered good nights, and fell asleep within minutes.
However, the exsphere attached to Anna's sternum began to pulse, slowly evolving from its inferior state to a cruxis crystal, and began draining the very power and soul of Anna that night.
When the metamorphosis of the crystal kicked in, Anna screamed as a jolt of pain went through her. It was a high pitched scream, short, yet so loud it rang across the room for minutes to pass. Kratos leapt out of bed and rushed to the sleeping woman's side. She was sweating, breathing hard, yet she still managed to stay sleeping.
Kratos noticed the crystal pulsing with energy and silently cursed. The process of evolving the exsphere began.
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Mr.Who2123: Uh-oh. Now Kratos has to worry about Anna now, not just the pact ring. Oh, I've also decided to have my lovebirds work more on their relationship because A) This is a LOVE story! B) How many kisses have they had? One? Two maybe? C'mon, we need to kick it up! Oh, and they're going to work on their relationship and get help from the two story clowns: Sanaro and Yuan. They will have a more comical part of this story, yet it is still a big one. It will be their life goal to get them together. D
Kratos: Review.
Mr.Who2123: Yes, please review, and thank you!