After they arrived in Hima, Anna nearly jumped up in joy. It was long and hard and grueling for her, yet looking at Kratos, she would have hardly thought that he'd done any more than take a short walk.

"Well, that was tiring." Kratos said dully, reaching one hand up to his head as if to wipe the sweat from his forehead. So unexpressive, Anna thought as she shook her head and frowned at him. She was basically on her knees exhausted. She gave him another dirty look, until she tripped and nearly fell, too exhausted to keep herself up. She felt a strong arm grab hold of waist and haul her up, her own arm around his shoulders as Kratos helped her up. She smiled at him and thought to herself, that she was glad he was there. No matter how much of a condescending jerk he was, somehow it was exactly that part of him that made her stronger. It was then that she noticed that he was staring intently at her...and that she was staring right back.

As Anna smiled at Kratos, he couldn't help but feel confused, though he also felt something more that he couldn't quite explain. He found himself staring at her, noting a beauty that touched each of her striking features. For the first time he noticed her heart-shaped face framed by long, chocolate-colored hair and prominent cheek bones. But more than anything, despite her fierceness, he noticed the gentleness in her green eyes and the frailty that touched her smile. But she looked away abruptly, not yet ready to accept Kratos and his past. They were interrupted by a man nearby who cried, "Ah! Another monster!" Anna looked around confused, until she realized that the man was staring right at them and began to lunge for Noishe.

"No!" She shouted, putting herself protectively between Noishe and the attacker. She lifted her arm to block the attack that surely would have been near fatal for the protozoan. Despite her fatigue, Anna's strong will took hold of her feet and she moved her unwilling body. Too tired to wield her dagger and properly block the attack, the man's splintered weapon came crashing down on her as he looked on in surprise, unable to stop his body already in motion. Anna felt the burning pain sear through her arm, as the weapon moved in deeper and as she prepared to faint, she felt a quick motion cut off the intruding impact and saw through her blurry vision a pair of worried eyes over her. Then the last thing she remembered was the crying whine of Noishe.

0o0

Kratos scolded himself again and again as he waited for Anna to regain consciousness. Why hadn't he seen it coming, moved faster, protected Anna and Noishe? He should have been more on his guard, he thought to himself. But at that moment, he was so distracted, and he simply did not understand it. He frowned again at himself when he remembered it...Then he sighed, thinking to himself that he would never quite understand whatever he felt, because he didn't remember ever being so distracted, so off guard. As Anna lay pale and faint in the bed, Kratos healed her as best as he could using magic, then cleaning and wrapping her wound gently.

"How is she?" Asked a worried attacker as he entered their room. As soon as the weapon hit Anna, Kratos stopped the rest from doing even more damage, but the attacker himself was already stopping the attack. As soon as Kratos explained what Noishe was...or rather he actually just called Noishe a dog to save himself the trouble of explaining, the man was quite generous. He offered them refuge at his home and helped Kratos treat Anna's wounds. Still, Kratos cast the man a glare, silencing him almost immediately, until the man spoke again after a few moments of silence. "Look, I'm sorry about your girlfriend, but she did jump in front of the monster, err-i mean dog."

"She's not my girlfriend." He answered icily and abruptly, causing the man to raise his hands in defense and chuckle.

"Whatever you say" he winked and left. For a few hours, Noishe stayed faithfully by Anna and Kratos, whining and pacing restlessly in anticipation of Anna waking up, while Kratos worried whether the pressure of her key crest-less exsphere and her wound would fatally injure her. As he grew more and more worried, he thought to himself, it's only natural that i'm worried seeing as it was my fault to begin with...and he cringed at the thought of being distracted once more. No more distractions, he decided and began to nod off in the chair beside Anna's bedside.

Finally Anna woke up. Her eyes blinked quickly as they adjusted to the light and as she tried to sit up quickly, she gasped at the pain in her arm, wincing slightly. "Where are we?" She whispered to herself and next to her, she saw Kratos sleeping and smiled softly. Then all of sudden, she heard a loud barking and Noishe was basically on top of her, licking her until she was soaked. Laughing, she said, "it's good to see you too Noishe!"

Kratos awoke to the sound of laughter and saw Noishe happily soaking a now conscious Anna. Then Anna turned to Kratos, smiling and said haughtily, "Thanks for staying here with me, but you know, I can take care of myself." She folded her arms and looked at him as he frowned and responded irritated,

"Anna, if you could take care of yourself, you wouldn't be in this position."

Now angry, Anna yelled at him, "i didn't see you doing anything!"

"Humph." he said simply, averting his eyes from her and ignoring her.

She growled in frustration. "At least have the decency to respond. " She threw her head up and mumbled, "Jerk." Though they were arguing, both were glad to have things back to normal and out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Kratos smile. He was glad to know that she would be just fine.

"We can rest here a few days before we leave again." He said. "It won't be long until the Desians find us." His brow creased with worry, and Anna groaned loudly.

"Can't we stay a little longer this time? We haven't stopped moving since, well frankly since I was in the ranch." She whined.

He sighed. "You know the risk we run if we do that." He crossed his arms and looked down at her, one eye raised. Anna fell back onto the bed and pouted, turning on her side to sleep as if to ignore Kratos. They stayed that way for a few moments.

"I know." She whispered.

0o0

For the next few days, they spent the place at Archie's, a young man in his mid 30's. That was the name of Anna's attacker. Monsters, it seemed, had flooded Hima and killed many of the residents living there. Most others fled, but Archie was determined to stay for some reason. He survived... but grew paranoid in the process. They didn't interact much with what sparse residents remained and the inn itself was bare as a ghost town. Kratos and Anna continued to argue as usual, his indifference irritating Anna while her energy wore Kratos's patience thin. Both got along well with Archie and even became good friends with him. He was witty, good-natured and quick to think, moderating between Anna and Kratos's extreme personalities.

While Anna slept in late, Kratos had gotten up early to search for any signs of Desians and once he was satisfied with the results, he retreated back to Archie's home. Archie greeted him in the kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee, sitting down with Kratos at the table. They sat in silence for a while, until Archie chuckled to himself. Kratos looked up at him confused and caught Archie's eye. Laughing more, he finally explained himself. "You and Anna are as different as night and day. You know, it gets tiring after a while, even just watching you two go at it."

Kratos agreed, but was too proud ever to give in to her petty, childish arguments. In response, he looked at him and put a hand to his forehead, sadly shaking his head. Archie only grinned and said as he left Kratos, "You know, opposites attract." To that Kratos stifled a snort. And Kratos could hear him mumble in the distance, "Poor sucker. They'll be hopelessly in love before they know it." Kratos ignored his last comment, knowing well that he would never fall in love. As soon as Anna awoke, Kratos knew that they would have to leave and told her and Archie, thanking him for his hospitality.

"If the Desians know that you've been sheltering us, they'll kill you." Anna frowned, worried, and Kratos was as well. Though they barely interacted, they respected one another and grew a friendship out of their respect. He was one of the few that Kratos would respect.

Archie only grinned and said, "I'll be fine. i managed to take you down and you two seem just fine. I can take care of myself." Anna laughed and even Kratos smiled. "I'll see you two off though. It's gonna seem pretty quiet without you two arguing all the time."

As they walked to the town's exit, they talked among themselves, hearing a voice suddenly cry, "You dirty half-elf!" And with that, a lamp came flying towards Archie. Kratos pulled him out of harm's way and Archie stood still shifting uncomfortably for a while. Kratos and Anna glanced at each other, each with sadness and stood silently with Archie for a while until he spoke.

"Thank you for saving me" He said uncomfortably and strangely with a now formal air. Then he sighed and said, "I'm sorry for lying to you, but..." his eyes were downcast, then he continued abruptly as if in a hurry. "I won't blame you if you hate me now, but it was nice knowing you while it lasted. Good luck." He turned and prepare to leave until he felt someone grab his arm and he looked back in surprise at Anna's smiling face.

Anna pulled him into a hug and whispered, "It was nice meeting you too. You were my first real friend since I've been out of ranch." Kratos scoffed and felt strangely offended. Anna looked back at him and stuck her tongue out. Smirking, she mouthed, "Sorry."

kratos only replied with, "Humph." Anna released Archie from his hug, but continued to say, "You're still you, even if you're a half-elf. There are good ones like there are bad humans. Just look at Kratos" She remarked cheerily and pointed back at him as he raised his eyebrows.

Kratos shook his head and replied, "Don't be so immature."

Archie looked at her and smiled, then asked Kratos eyeing him, "What about you?"

Kratos snorted and replied, "All of my closest friends, people I respect above all else, are half-elves. You're safe with us. Don't worry." Archie smiled and looked relieved.

As he started walking back and as they walked in the opposite direction, he grinned and said, "I'll never forget you, but don't forget. Opposites attract." With that he winked and left, leaving both Kratos and Anna irritated at each other with just a glance.

Long after, maybe days after, Kratos and Anna left, there lay Archie in his home, still and cold in his own pool of blood, eyes open in sorrow. The townspeople hardly missed him and were glad to tell the Desians that he was harboring criminals. The Desian stood next to Archie's body and spat at him, mumbling, "Traitors...they're the worst." THen he turned to his companion and said, "They're gone. Tell K'var."

** Hey! Will be gone for a while, so don't expect another update for two weeks. This is the last until then. Please write reviews and maybe even post any ideas you want incorporated in this. Thank you for reading!**