Chapter 9: To the Tournament

Since all the excitement of her birthday, her normal life had begun to feel a bit dull. Somehow she knew after she said her goodbyes to everyone especially Linus, she was likely not going to experience anything that got her pulse racing for a long time afterwards. She also felt oddly despondent.

She often found herself going out into the flower garden and simply staring up into the sky as if she was truly fascinated by it. The sky was limitless. The sky had no bounds. It was everything that she wasn't yet her parents had compared her to it many times before.

"It smells beautiful out here."

Leona turned to look back at her ever radiant mother. "Oh, hi, Mom, I hadn't realized you'd gotten back already."

"Well, this is the same time I always get back."

Her mother made her way towards her and then sat down on the same bench. For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them, but this wasn't something completely out of the norm. Ofttimes, they'd have nothing at all to say to one another, but this time the silence did not last for long.

"How was your day?" her mother asked.

"The same," Leona said with a sigh.

"Something tells me you aren't too please about that."

"No, no, I'm fine. It has been a pleasant day."

"You'd let me know if it was otherwise, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Leona replied.

"Well, alright, I'll be in the den if you need anything."

Leona watched the other leave and then returned her gaze to the sky. She wondered what that had been about. There were many days in which her mother would return home and she'd not hear from her all day. It was obvious to her that her mother was concerned about something, but she had not bothered to tell her what. She was likely to remain out here for hours and hours until someone called her in for supper. She'd not done anything significant that day aside from attending the last day of school. She was relieved not to have worry about school for a few months.

Just then, she heard the faint sounds of someone knocking on the door. She decided she would answer since her mother was not likely to do so. Her mother could become quite consumed with her work. Besides, she was curious as to who would be knocking. They rarely received visitors and her parents had not told her of anyone coming. She made her way through the screen door all the way to the front. When she looked through the peephole, she was pleasantly surprised to see a certain spikey blonde haired youth standing there on the porch. He was by himself.

"Why, hello," Leona said as soon as she opened the door revealing Lucas.

"Hullo, princess," he replied with a grin.

Leona let that slide. She was far too overcome with curiosity and joy that someone should be at her door specifically to see her or so she assumed.

"And what brings you here today?"

His grin turned into a smile. "You're going to love this. I've entered you, me and two others into a tournament that's going to occur in a weeks' time."

"You what?" Leona asked flabbergasted.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he continued.

"Oh, well, sure," she said as she stepped aside and allowed him entrance. She closed the door and turned to him. "Now, what's all this about a tournament?"

"It's one that always held in Meltokio around this time. My sisters can't be bothered with such things, especially not Cecil who wouldn't lift a finger to help me in anything. So I usually just drag those libido twins along and find some random fourth straggler to join. There's a nice sum of money for the prize and I could really use it, you know, for the summer."

"So I'm now the fourth straggler?"

Lucas turned to her then. "I wouldn't call you a straggler. You can use magic, right? This would be a piece of cake for you."

"I can use magic, yes, but I can do more than just that. In fact, magic is a last resort. I was in a dress that time and I didn't want to mess it up. Now why in the world did you enter me into a tournament without asking my permission first?"

"Hmmm…good question. It was just timing. I'd forgotten to ask you before and I didn't have much time after I returned home to send in the application. With a full set of members made initially, we're entitled to more of the prize. You could say no, but you'd really be missing out."

"Assuming that I like tournaments and fighting people."

"Well, do you?"

"I enjoy training with my dad."

"As do I. Then it's settled."

"Wait…but, I'm not dressed for the occasion and I have to talk to my parents and…"

"Not to worry," Lucas said nonchalantly, "I'll talk to them—

"But my dad isn't here. It's just Mom."

"Do you want to come or not?" Lucas asked her.

"Well, yes. It sounds interesting."

"Then go get dressed. I'll talk to your mom, no problem. Besides, it's not often I get to catch her unawares," he said with subtle mischievous intent.

Leona looked at him distrustfully. Then again, her mom could take care of herself and certainly could shield herself from any silly, half-baked plans that he might have. She finally went upstairs and changed out of the skirt she had on and into something more combat accessible. Soon she had on her tights, her fingerless gloves, a close-fitting long-sleeved jacket over her dark camisole, and, of course, her short, metal enforced boots. Tied about her calves were spiky greaves that gave her kicks added devastation. Her gloves as well were spiked. After she was dressed, she felt ready. In fact, she wished she was already at the tournament to see how she would fare against others.

If only the twins weren't involved, she'd feel almost ecstatic about the event. Even though she'd reached some sort of understanding with Eros, she would still have to be around those hypnotizing orbs of his and if they weren't directed at her, they would be directed at other women—and she did not want to be present for such things. She'd focus her attention on Lucas then, the teasing, annoying Lucas. She didn't have a lot of choice in the matter, but beggars couldn't be choosers—she was dying for something to stave off her ensuing boredom and Lucas had come at the nick of time.

When she came downstairs fully equipped and with her unused traveling storage bag, she went to go check on her mom. Even before she arrived there, she could hear laughter, her mother's laughter. Surprised, her pace increased so that she could bear witness to this rare scene. In the doorway of the den, she could see Lucas sitting beside his mother quite comfortably as if he knew her well and he was reading out what Leona assumed was a student's writing.

"I think he completely missed the point here—but you have to admire his effort," Lucas said much to her mother's amusement.

"Well, it's an 'F' either way. How can I grade something that's completely off topic?" her mother asked.

"Aw, not even a few points for making your day?"

She shook her head. "He's a repeat offender, that one. I can't tell if he's being dead serious or purposefully contrary. Oh, Leona," her mother said looking up and noticing her watching.

Leona gave her a brief smile. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, actually and yet utterly dreading the fact that I have more of these to read through. Lucas told me about his plans and I'm completely onboard with it. Go, do something fun for a change. And I know you'll be in good hands with Lucas—he's used to looking after his siblings."

"So I've heard," Leona said back. She was a bit surprised that her mother had no objections whatsoever. What magic had Lucas worked on her? She glanced at Lucas' now innocent face. Surely her mother could see through his "friendly" façade.

"Alright," Lucas said standing up from the couch. "I would love to stay longer, but we have a tight schedule to keep."

"Please, don't let me keep you. Have a safe journey you two."

"And don't get too caught up in those essays, Mrs. Bryant. I'm sure the baby would appreciate it."

"I'm sure," her mother said as an afterthought as they left her to her own devices.

Leona didn't question the other until they were well outside. What exactly had he done to her mother to make her so…pliable?

"Your mother's responsible for saving Linus' life quite a few times. And, you know, she's a really nice lady. Regretfully, I've not visited as much as I would like. I'll always be indebted to her."

"She probably doesn't see it that way," Leona said to the other. "She's a healer and she doesn't mind helping her friends."

"Even so," he said. "Well, c'mon, let's pick up the pace a little. We still have to get to Mizuho."

"That's where the twins are?"

"That's right," Lucas said in a way that made her wonder if he was being sarcastic again—this was going to be a long journey.

It felt like a nice afternoon stroll up until they left the city limits. She realized suddenly that she'd not been past here on her own. Immediately, her guard was up and she positioned herself a little closer to Lucas. Despite everything, he did make her feel safe. It was clear he could defend himself quite well and that it was something he was used to doing.

"So this is what you do all the time?" Leona asked out of the blue after they'd walked for over an hour.

"What—killing monsters and listening to music?"

She was sure she had an annoyed expression on her face. "You know what I mean."

"I do like traveling a lot, but it's more out of necessity than anything else."

"And this is necessary?" Leona asked.

"Money is tight, so yes."

"Lloyd Irving is your father, right?"

"Yes," he said drawing out the word a little.

"And he's in every history book ever. Isn't he famous?"

"Being famous doesn't equate to having money. Saving the world is nice and all, but there's no compensation for it. And if you knew him at all, you'd know he's the least likely person to think of the brilliant idea of capitalizing off of his name recognition. The world is at peace…not much for him to honestly do."

"What does he do?" Leona asked.

"All things volunteer work."

"So…he helps people for no pay and that's his job?"

"Well, mostly. It's right down his alley actually. Great role model if you want to be broke for the rest of your life and feel good about it."

Leona looked away thoughtfully. She'd never in a million years think that the Hero of Reunification could actually be without money. Why didn't her parents help then if they were such good friends? Were they content to allow them to live in squalor?

"Don't get me wrong, though. It's not like we require a lot of money in the first place—it just sure would make things a lot easier. I don't always feel like sewing things when just buying a new shirt would solve the problem just as well and the material would probably be superior. I don't mind it, but then I do mind it."

"You enjoy being contradicting."

"Aren't we all?"

Leona shrugged. She hadn't met a lot of people to confirm such a blanket statement and she left it at that. She didn't find herself to be contradicting at least.

Leona didn't know how long they had to travel but after a few hours, she thought this might drag on forever. They came upon mountains which Leona feared they'd have to cross, but Lucas assured her that they would be going around. One could climb it if they had the proper gear, patience, and energy, but it was largely unnecessary. For a short while, they were walking past a small body of water which was refreshing in Leona's opinion—she wondered if the water was clean enough to drink. Somehow, Leona knew the other would know the answer and he told her, yes and that it was actively kept clean for Mizuho purposes.

"So that means we're close? Can we make it before the sun goes down?" Leona asked him. There seemed to be no end to the questions that kept bubbling to the surface of her mind.

"We're close, but not close enough to trek through that forest without it turning dark. No one wants to go through that forest at night."

So they made camp in the open where there was plentiful water. They wound up using it for both cooking and drinking. Now she understood why Lucas' pack was much larger than hers—there were cooking supplies in them as well as food. Enough to serve their purposes, he assured her. She refilled her water pouches which had been severely drained that day. Not that it had been excruciatingly hot. In fact, it had been undeniably pleasurable, but she was not used to traveling long distance on foot. Her heavy footwear made things far worse.

Before she knew it, she was curling up to the hot flames of the campfire. She wondered if she should volunteer to keep watch, but her eyes were already protesting staying open.

"It's relatively safe here," Leona heard Lucas say. "We don't exactly need a lookout, but I'll do so just in case, princess…I'll keep you safe."

The way he had said "princess" just then…But her mind did not have time to analyze it before she was drifting off.

Leona awoke to being shaken early in the morning. She groaned in discomfort when her eyes first peered out into the bright sun.

"Rise and shine—the earlier we start, the sooner we can get this all over with."

Leona sat up slowly. The campfire from before was all ashes. She looked around for her pack and realized that it was in a different place than where she'd set it before. Not only that, but everything was already packed. She took the bag into her lap and rummaged through it to make sure everything was there.

"Did you touch my bag?" she asked to the standing Lucas.

"What—are you missing something?" he said back.

"Well, no, but…"

"The only thing I'm waiting for is you."

"You know, it's common courtesy to ask before you touch things that aren't yours."

Lucas looked at her as if she was being ridiculous, "I was bored and there was really nothing else to do besides wait for you."

There were personal items in her bag like bras and panties and she wondered if he'd seen those things. "Would you do me a favor and not do that again?"

"I apologize, if it's really bothering you this much. It's not as if there was something in there that I haven't seen before—

"Lucas," she said a bit startled, "And you looked through my bag." Great, now I'll have to keep closer tabs on my items…

"Well, I asked before, but you made it seem like it was this big secret."

"That's because it is and it's private."

"I just—well, I don't like having question marks as far as inventory goes. It just makes everything a whole lot easier if I just knew everything you brought with you."

Leona stood up then and put her bag on her back. The thought of Lucas peering through her bag disgusted her. It simply wasn't a normal thing one would do to another especially since she still considered him more of an acquaintance than anything else. She knew, however, that he'd probably have a fit if she told his "friendship status" to others. She did not know him very well and she was sure there were going to be many more moments like these when he would do something that she didn't expect.

"Now you know," she said haughtily.

Lucas was no longer looking at her. Now he was looking towards the forest. "The going will be a bit treacherous. Keep your guard up."

"What's in there?" Leona asked.

"Monsters. Creatures of the forest. I went through it plenty of times before so we're not likely to get lost. Stay close."

Despite her previous thoughts, she did decide that she would stay close to him. He hadn't led her astray thus far and he sounded serious. Her pack was light compared to the heavy footwear she wore so she would not be hindered. They moved quickly into the forest. Though it was clearly daytime, their surroundings immediately became dark. She would not have liked to trek through such a forest at night.

She walked side by side with Lucas now. She was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive, but all he would do was stare straight ahead. He seemed unbothered. When he stopped dead in his tracks, his cool aura seemed to evaporate suddenly. He was looking about almost frantically and Leona became further uneasy.

"What is it?" Leona asked. She was looking around as well, but could discern nothing.

"I sense it—something's about to attack."

Then, out of the trees besides them on the trail they'd be traversing, a zombie-like creature jumped out and then tackled her to the ground. She couldn't help but panic at that very moment as its claw came down upon her. Had she not yanked her head to the left, she'd be in a world of hurt.

"Stay away from her!" she heard Lucas shout.

Then she heard as sword met squishy flesh and then again as the sword was ripped back. Leona sat up after the creature was taken off of her just in time to see Lucas tearing the odd looking creature apart with his sword. The creature had little time to react before Lucas savagely swiped his blade cleanly through its neck. Finally, the creature fell in a heap and dark blood began to ooze quickly from the wound.

"C'mon, let's get a move on," Lucas said probably because she was gawking for too long.

Lucas moved to help her to her feet, but before he could do so, she climbed to her feet so as to avoid having to touch his hand. Then they were running. Lucas for some reason wanted to take up her hand as they did so, but she moved just out of his reach.

"I can run just fine!" she shouted to Lucas.

"Alright, then, keep up."

"I am."

But she obviously had no idea just how swiftly the other could run before he was taking off at speeds that seemed inhuman. She forced her legs to pump even faster, but she could not keep up and he was becoming farther and farther away.

"Hey, wait up!" Leona shouted a bit frustrated.

She didn't want to be left behind in such a forest and it was impossible for her to move any quicker. She was not known for running for long distance and this was made abundantly clear to her. Maybe if she didn't have such weights on her legs…She was relieved when it seemed that Lucas heard her and turned back to her. She expected him to wait until she reached his position, but he came rushing back to her much to her astonishment, grabbed her legs and lifted her quite easily over his shoulder.

"Geez!" Leona shouted out in surprise.

Before she knew it, she was hanging over his shoulder and moving at a rapid pace. She wondered what all the rush was and why she just had to be lifted in such a way, but it was the fasted she'd ever been carried across so much land by foot. Even she began to sense the danger. As she lifted her head a little and peered into the darkness, she felt as if the forest itself was closing in on them. The forest seemed alive. Noises emitted from everywhere. Any moment now, something would jump out at them. Then they broke free. She hadn't even seen it coming, but it happened. She was placed on the ground before the other saw fit to lay down on the ground sprawled.

Leona climbed to her feet easily with arms crossed in annoyance. She looked down at the reckless boy who heaved freely now, his face flushed.

"I told you before, I can do more than just magic. That creature just caught me unawares. There may have been danger there in that forest, but I bet if we stood and fought together, we would have made quick work of them."

Lucas was looking at her now, but he couldn't quite respond as of yet as his breathing took more priority at the moment. He raised an index finger towards her as if to say "Give me a minute."

"And I'm pretty heavy to carry—way too heavy to be running around with."

This seemed amusing to the other as his eyes became alight with silent laughter. She noticed as well, that where her legs had been against his shirt, it was torn a bit, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. It took him a few minutes to regain his composure and finally sit up.

He gave a short laugh. "You're the only girl I know who would openly say 'I'm pretty heavy'."

Leona gave him a confused look. "Well, I am."

"Where have you been all my life," he said as he climbed to his feet not nearly as smoothly as Leona. In fact he stumbled a little influenced in all likelihood by the exhaustion he still felt. "But I guess that isn't entirely accurate—I suppose I've known you for almost all my life."

He turned and walked to her. She wasn't sure what he was talking about any longer, but she didn't feel like asking him to clarify. He looked at her intently now and Leona remembered that he had looked at Linus similarly that night at the hotel.

"I'm just glad you're safe." There was a sincerity in his pale blue eyes that Leona could not easily dismiss.

He must have been genuinely concerned for her safety and she at least had to commend his earnestness towards her wellbeing.

"I have no doubt that together, we might have been able to defend ourselves, but I didn't want to waste our energy on petty fights. We have a tournament to worry about."

"That is true," Leona looked away from him now as she began to notice something about him. "Lucas, you really take looking after someone seriously."

"It's a serious matter and I've failed many times before. You've placed your trust in me, haven't you?"

"Well…"

"At least your mother has in order for her to agree so wholeheartedly to travel without any adult supervision. You're mom's a pretty cautious woman too. I intend to keep you safe at all times."

"What if…" Leona faltered a little when she thought of how out of the blue her next question was, but she was curious as to his answer nonetheless. "What if someone charged you with protecting the world? Would you accept it?"

"Where in the world did that come from?"

"Just something Clarion said…about destroying the world."

"And you're suddenly thinking about this now?"

"Yes," Leona said exasperatedly, "Are you're going to analyze everything I say and determine if it's 'okay to talk about now'? Or are you going to answer?"

Lucas grinned at her. "I apologize. I think I'll answer. Protecting one or two people is a troublesome enough responsibility—the entire world would be a fool's errand."

"So you wouldn't accept?"

"Not at all. Not on my own. I'd need help from those who I trust—and those kind of people are hard to come by."

"But not for you."

Lucas looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I have a lot of siblings sure. I suppose I trust them by default…even Cecil. That has nothing to do with anything I've done. Aside from them, there's you and those libido twins. Not exactly a long list."

"That's more than me—

Lucas sighed exasperatedly. "Will you stop that? Everyone loves you and everyone considers you their friend whether you realize it or not. You could go visit any one of us and we'd invite you in as if you were some long lost sister."

"Then…you love me?" Leona asked quizzically.

"Why did you have to say it like that?" he said turning from her. "We're very nearly there—let's not take all day walking the last few miles."

He'd completely changed the subject and was already walking off as if they were in a race against time—his pace was quite brisk and Leona had to sprint a little bit to catch back up with him. When she tried to look at him closely, he would turn his head slightly. His face was no longer flushed from exhaustion, but it was flushed by something else. She wondered how she had managed to embarrass him to such an astonishing degree, but she didn't think broaching the topic would make it any better. She, at least, found it amusing. She wasn't used to causing such a reaction from someone else. She spent the majority of her time with her parents and she was sure there weren't much things she could say to them that would embarrass them—actually, she thought after a moment, perhaps her mother was that way, but there were quite a number of things that could easily put off her sometimes overly sensitive father.

"What exactly do you mean by libido twins?" Leona asked as he'd managed to call them that twice now.

"Well, if you don't know by now, then I'm not going to be the one to explain it."

Leona frowned at this. "It's no big secret to me that they're both a bit…frisky. I'm pretty sure that's what you're referring to—I just wanted some confirmation."

"Eros more than Zeph," Lucas eventually conceded. "I'm surprised they haven't said anything to you."

"They have."

"Oh? Big surprise there. Probably at that birthday party."

"Yes, actually."

"You're worried about them traveling with us."

Leona nodded.

"You make it clear to them that you're not interested and all that awkward sexual tension should disperse. They can take 'no' for an answer, don't worry."

She imagined that tension would still be there and she was increasingly glad that Lucas was with her. For the most part, he seemed to act normal around her. She could direct all her conversation towards him and not ever directly speak to those other two.

She was unprepared for the sight she'd see when they arrived at Mizuho. Wooden arches indicated that they would soon be entering a village. When they stepped through, she felt as if she'd been teleported back in time to when people lived in subsistence. Clearly farming was an everyday activity. Dwellings were made primarily out of wood and people wore clothing she vaguely remembered as kimonos. The twins lived here?

"The Wilders live further back. A bit secluded from everyone else."

It was still morning time as they traversed through. She got the distinct feeling that everyone outside at that moment knew that they weren't from around there. First of all, their clothes differed greatly and Leona was beginning to feel increasingly shy. She felt eyes on her. She looked to Lucas and he seemed once again unfazed. In fact, he waved at a few denizens there. She wondered if she should do the same. It was probably rude of her to be looking to the ground and ignoring everyone around her, but it was too late to change her façade now. The further in they went, the less populated it became until they were walking down a lonely dirt path that seemed to have no end in sight.

After a short while, Leona saw a modest house coming into view. It was completely wooden, but it was impressive nonetheless. Enough to house a small family comfortably.

"This is it," Lucas said finally as they arrived at the porch steps.

They paused, however, when they heard loud voices. She looked to Lucas to see what he wanted to do next.

"Let's wait a moment…" Lucas said to the questioning Leona.

Curious, she stepped a bit closer so that she could hear a little better. She glanced back at the uninterested Lucas who now leaned back against the wooden railings of the ample front porch.

"Damn it, Zelos, you know I hate repeating myself!"

"Then don't! It's too early in the morning for this shit!"

"Too early?! Then you're saying I should just ignore it—just go about my business like there's nothing wrong with this picture?—

"Yes!" Zelos hissed.

"I feel like a broken record! Geez, things just go in one ear and out the other. This is not new! I don't think I'm being unreasonable here."

"If you like, I'll just buy you a million wooden cutting boards so that anytime you dirty one, you can just throw it away and never worry about how it's going to be cleaned."

"Now you're just being silly."

"You really woke up this morning and said 'hmmm…. what asinine thing should I notice today and get on Zelos' nerves about?' and you think I'm being silly?"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"I think you need to go PMS on your own time."

"I swear, Zelos—

"Take it out the dishwasher—you'll never find another wooden cutting board in there again, alright? And if you magically find one, then you have my permission to beat me down to a bloody pulp."

His voice was much closer now.

"I'll hold you to that!"

"You would!"

Leona didn't think the door was going to open so swiftly. In fact, she scarcely saw the door move before she was getting bashed in the face with it and fell unceremoniously to the ground. Her eyes watered a little as the pain traversed down her face mercilessly. She'd forgotten even to cry out in pain. Immediately her hands cradled her throbbing nose.

"Oh shit, what in the world," she heard the man breathe from above her.

Zelos' watery concerned face came into view. It was a funny thing to notice at this moment, but she noticed some stubble on his face. Granted she did not see him very often, but every time she did he was always so clean-shaven.

"Who is it?" Leona heard a woman's voice—probably Sheena—shouting from the distance.

Zelos turned from her and shouted back to her to confirm her identity.

"I'm so sorry, honey. Here, let me see your nose," he said in gentler tones.

She'd been covering her nose, but now she slowly removed their presence as she felt his hands lightly tugging at them. Suddenly, there was more shadows around her.

"Are you alright," she heard Lucas ask. She could not see him, however, and she did not want to risk moving her head.

"Oh, poor baby," Sheena said gently moving her hair from her face.

Zelos ran two fingers down her nose and she winced at his touch.

"It's not broken," he said relieved. "Sheena, would you mind getting a rag for the blood?"

"Sure, of course," Sheena said standing up.

It was amazing how calmly she had responded considering how angry she had sounded before.

"I think I'll heal you. No point in prolonging things," Zelos said.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked the other.

Since when could he heal people? Was he like my mom? Leona thought.

"It's not dire. It shouldn't take very much energy."

Leona watched as Zelos' hand hovered over her nose and then began glowing lightly. In a few moments, the pain and the swelling subsided much to her surprise. She sat up slowly and looked at the man with new respect.

"That was amazing, sir. Thank you."

His expression was only slightly annoyed and she'd forgotten his dislike for the word "sir". "Yes, I'm well aware of my awe-inspiring self," he replied giving her a half-smile.

"I had no idea you could heal people just like my mom."

"Like Raine? Well, she's on a completely different level than me. I remember the time when such artes took far less trouble to use. Something minor like this is all I'm good for. An apple gel works far more efficiently these days," he said with a sigh, "And now I feel like an old man."

It seemed he hadn't been exaggerating on his last comment as he climbed to his feet slowly and there was strain written on his face. He held a hand out to her in which she took graciously. Just then, Sheena came back with a damp brown cloth and Leona quickly wiped away the dried blood from under her nose. She'd almost forgotten it had been there in the first place.

"What a surprise," Sheena said with a smile. "I never imagined you'd come visiting, Leona, but I'm glad you came and with Lucas no less."

"Did we…did we come at a bad time?" Leona asked the woman.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "This is a great time. Actually, I made some breakfast. You can have some if you like."

"I would love to," Leona said realizing she'd not eaten any sort of breakfast. They'd been in a rush she supposed.

"Lucas?" Sheena said looking at the boy.

"You know me—I'd eat you out of house and home if I could."

Sheena laughed at this. "Come on in, you two. I can't imagine how long you two have been out there traveling."

Leona and Lucas followed her inside, but she stopped and looked back towards Zelos when she realized he wasn't with them.

"What will you do?" Leona asked the man innocently.

He had his hands in his pockets then, his expression a bit melancholic. She wondered if she'd missed something.

"I think I'll just…take a walk."

"Oh, okay," Leona responded. He must have already eaten.

"You do that, Zelos," Sheena said giving him a side-glance. The only indication that the argument from before had actually happened. "And don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"Alright," Zelos said back quickly, his back already turned to her.

Leona watched him proceed down the road but soon her attentions were elsewhere as she closed the door behind her and followed the other two into the dining room.

A dark blue table cloth blanketed a long table with six chairs total around it. Leona wound up sitting diagonally across from Lucas and Sheena eventually sat beside her after she gathered the food from the kitchen to set before them.

"I imagine you're the ringleader of this sudden visit," Sheena said to Lucas after a bit.

"Thought it'd be a good idea to drag Leona along on my little adventure."

Sheena grinned at this. "You've been enjoying yourself, Leona? He hasn't been a bother, has he?"

"No," she said shaking her head. "Actually he's been quite tolerable to be around."

"Oh, tolerable," Sheena said clearly amused. "Sounds like you're having tons of fun."

"If you don't mind me asking," Lucas began slowly, "Where's the twins?"

"They actually got up pretty early today. Wanted to do some shopping for some better weapons. They thought you'd be here yesterday and they're getting a bit antsy about it."

"Trust me, we won't be late. We have ample time."

"I know," she said with a nod, "But they can't wait to get out of here. I raised them all this time in a small village and they've never really quite settled in. Peace and quiet just isn't in their blood. They grow up so quickly…"

Leona noticed that Lucas finished his plate in record time, but when Sheena asked if he wanted seconds, he declined.

"Let's hope things turn out a little better this year," Sheena commented as Leona finished her food as well.

"Do things usually turn out badly?" Leona wondered aloud.

"I wouldn't say badly," Lucas said quickly, "But there's always that one group who always defeats us."

"The reigning champions," Sheena clarifies. "As I hear it, their team is very well put together and they train all year long together so that they fight in perfect unison with ease."

Leona's eyes widened at this. "Wait, they still sound way better than we do. I have no idea how all of you fight—We've never fought together."

Lucas shrugged at this. "Well, there's still a ways to go before we get to Meltokio. We're sure to run into a few fights along the way."

"A few fights versus an entire year of training," Leona said incredulously.

"If it takes you an entire year to learn how to fight with other people, then there's something wrong. It's just not that complicated. There's four of them and four of us. Pick one and fight. It's not their synchronicity that defeats us—it's that healer of theirs. And she uses offensive magic as well. With you there, it should be no problem."

They were both standing up from the table by now and Leona could scarcely believe her ears. Just how half-baked could a plan get?

"So you're betting I'll just zap somebody with some random light magic move and presto we win?" Leona asked.

"Thanks for making that sound incredibly unlikely," Lucas said with a laugh. "I personally think that since we'll be fighting on an even playing field, our chances of winning is near guaranteed."

"You never struck me as an optimist."

Lucas only shook his head at her. "At the very least, it'll be fun."

At least…Leona thought with little enthusiasm. She didn't think she'd like entering a fight in which her loss was inevitable. It wasn't exactly what she called fun. Then again, she'd never fought a real opponent before. She'd sparred with her father, of course, but he was always holding back and it was only for training purposes. Her father was never fighting to incapacitate her in any way. She wondered then, if her father would have approved of her entering such a tournament. Was she really ready for real combat? In her mind, it did not seem like such a scary venture, but even she could not deny her inexperience. Lucas should have accounted for that as well. What if she froze the moment she got out there?

"This is your first real fight, isn't it?" Sheena asked startling Leona out of her darkening thoughts.

Leona could only nod. The woman must have been capable of reading people's minds.

"I remember the first day I saw real combat," Sheena said with a soft smile, "I was a nervous wreck, you should have seen me. There's only one thing you can do when the moment comes—remember your training. Do exactly what you've been learning for so long…and it just flows. I'm not saying that you won't stumble upon some differences, but as long as you focus on the basics, you'll be able to adapt."

"I'll try to remember that," Leona said with another nod.

"And, Lucas, let her practice on the local monsters around here. If you truly want to win this time, you have to make sure everyone's on the same page."

"Yes, ma'am," Lucas said almost drearily.

"Sorry for being such a nuisance," Leona said sensing his shift in mood.

"No, no, it's not you at all," Lucas said lightening his tone. "I just wanted to conserve our strength until the tournament. Now that I think about it, this is something we need to do beforehand."

At least he was onboard with her suggestion. It was sensible and had Sheena not gotten him to agree, she would have demanded that they follow Sheena's wisdom. They eventually parted ways with Sheena since their meal was done and Lucas was always one for reminding everyone that time was of the essence even if it wasn't really the case. The fastest way to Meltokio was to travel over to Sybak and then take a ship to their destination. Taking the ship would take almost a day to reach their destination. Sheena informed them before they left that she'd provided the twins with tickets for their passage. When she offered to also take care of Leona's fare, she kindly declined. Leona had ample money with her, enough so that it would never be an issue. A fact that even Lucas had not known until that moment.

They went into the main part of town looking for the twins where Sheena had told them they would be, but the task was easier said than done. Eventually, they began to expand their search radius and Leona found herself separated from Lucas for the time being. That was how she came upon Zelos. The redhead was relaxing on a bench pointed towards what Leona could only assume was a playground of some kind though it lacked children or things to play with, it was the only way to describe why a bench would be looking at such a large, empty field. It was understandably too early for children to be about in the first place.

When she moved closer to his position, she could see that his head was bowed. Perhaps he was resting; she couldn't be sure. So when she stood beside the bench, she debated with herself whether she should disturb him. In the end, she decided to do so.

"Hello, Zelos," Leona said brightly remembering to use his name instead of "sir".

A jolt seemed to go through him as if he was startled by her voice, but soon he was looking at her with the beginnings of a grin on his face. "Still looking for the twins?" he asked.

Leona nodded. "We've checked the central marketplace and couldn't find them at all."

"Not surprising," Zelos said leaning back on the bench, "They told Sheena that story just so they'd have an excuse to be out of the house—I'm sure Lucas must have figured it out already."

Even if Zelos wasn't surprised by this, Leona was. "So where are they? Maybe they left already."

"I doubt it," Zelos said shaking his head, "They were looking forward to that tournament in Meltokio and they always go with Lucas. No, they probably invited themselves over to some poor woman's house. Don't look so concerned, it's not anything new. He'll find them soon enough."

"I guess…this is a small town. So everybody knows everybody."

"Don't try to rationalize it. When I say they've invited themselves to some woman's house, it's not for anything innocent."

"I see. Well, I better go—

"You're not in a rush, are you? Why don't you keep me company for a bit?"

Leona thought for a moment and in the end saw no real reason why she couldn't acquiesce. Soon she was sitting next to the man who so easily made her feel special.

"When you say not innocent, you mean…?"

"Exactly what you're probably thinking. You've met them before and," this time his expression turned into a true grin, "that rather bold gift they gave you."

Leona was silent for a while as her mind zeroed in on what he was talking about. The other laughed at her muteness.

"It's funny," he said as his eyes looked upward to the skies, "I always thought of myself as a product of circumstances. I am the way I am due to those around me. I thought that had my past been different, I would have turned out so much differently and I'd be hardly recognizable to the person I am today. Yet Eros and Zeph proved me wrong. They were shown nothing but love. I see myself in them—a bit too much."

"Yourself?" Leona asked. Zelos didn't seem to be anything like them…

"Your confusion is a compliment in itself I suppose." He had turned to look at her then.

"Oh, well, you're welcome."

They sat in silence for a little while and he was no longer looking at her, but towards the field. It was obvious to her that he was deep in thought. It wasn't an altogether strange thing as adults often had far more things to worry over. But Zelos was different. He wasn't quite an adult, somewhere in between a boy and a man. This day, however, he seemed somehow older. She'd never visited him in his place of living. Perhaps that was contributed to his personality change.

"You said you were going for a walk and then I find you on a bench somewhere. Was that an excuse as well just to get out of the house?" Leona asked Zelos finally. She'd been wondering about this fact since she first realized that it was him.

"I did and then I got tired and decided to sit here."

Leona wasn't entirely convinced by this. After all, she and Lucas had walked down that same path and then proceeded to spending nearly an hour searching for the twins. At this point, she still wasn't tired and certainly not enough to warrant a rest. Zelos must have seen her unconvinced look.

"I tire easily."

"How come?" she asked automatically, but soon wondered if she should have asked. She'd known her "how comes" to irritate even her ever patient father. She half-expected Zelos to reply with "because I said so."

He was silent for a long moment contemplating how he might go about answering. "It's not something I completely understand myself. I used to just chalk it up to the fact that I wasn't as young as I used to be. But my 'condition' or whatever it is worsened year after year until it became noticeable even to my wife who thought it was a passing thing. Then, I realized something when I attempted to heal a minor cut one of the boys got when they were younger. It took far too much effort. It hadn't simply been difficult, but something even beyond that. I felt exhaustion before from using too much mana at once, but this was different. The air grew thin as if I was at some high elevation or at least it felt that way. It felt as if my body was shutting down completely—and it was just from that one arte." he said becoming caught up in his recounting.

"Back there when you healed me…" Leona said suddenly. "I'm so sorry I made you do that—

"That was my choice," he said shaking his head, "And it's not as bad as that for now. It was simply something that caught me off-guard back then. I learned something from that event. At the very least I had a good hunch that no one has been able to disprove: the mana depletion from this world or at least our access to it is adversely affecting me. My ability to use mana didn't come naturally—I'm no elf. Because of that very fact even if the laws of the natural world has been rewritten, it does not account for me who still depends on mana for life."

"So what you're saying in so many words is that you're dying," Leona said interrupting him again.

Zelos was quiet for a moment as he digested her words. "Well, you do like to put things bluntly. We're all dying if you think about it and in the same way so am I. There is or there was an exorbitant amount of mana in this world. It was what created life in the first place. It would take a long time to completely redirect all the mana being created on a daily basis."

"And you're counting on that to stave off an untimely death," Leona rationalized.

Zelos paused and then grinned at her. "Morbid, but very accurate."

"Does everyone…know about this?" Leona asked wondering if she should break such staggering news to Lucas.

"Basically, but no one's bothered to tell Lloyd as far as I know. It's been so long since I've known about this that it's become some unspoken law amongst us to completely leave him out of the loop."

"In that case, I'll carry on the tradition."

Zelos laughed at her. "I suppose it is a tradition."

"This explains why Sheena was so upset earlier."

Zelos looked at her in a confused manner and she could practically see him silently going through the events of the day as his eyes traveled elsewhere besides her. Then his eye brightened when he figured out what she was talking about. Obviously, their argument had not left much of an impression on him. She wondered if that meant that such happenings were commonplace.

"Ah, she wasn't really upset. She's just been overly stressed lately. And, of course, as usual I'm not helping matters. The boys have grown so independent lately. Just feels like yesterday when she was giving birth to two all at once. That was a painful scene I'd like not to see again…But where was I? When they were younger, they were practically attached to her. She'd dote on them and they were the sweetest little boys you'd ever seen. Dare I say, she probably loved them more than I. Then one day they became…distant. They wanted to do things on their own without their mom there all the time. I mean, I understand where they're coming from, but they could humor her sometimes. Then your birthday party basically confirmed what she'd been thinking about them. I wasn't the greatest father and I certainly don't have enough clout to 'chastise' them. I suck even worse at consoling someone especially Sheena. I doubt I even have the ability to make her truly happy again…but that's neither here nor there and I'm sure you're tired of listening to an old man's ramblings."

"No, actually I find it intriguing."

"Intriguing?" Zelos repeated amused with her choice of word. "How so?"

"Makes me wonder if I should ever get married."

"I wouldn't base such life-changing decisions on other's actions. Besides, it's not so bad. I think I'd be completely lost otherwise."

Now it was Leona's turn to be confused.

"Sometimes I forget I'm just talking to a thirteen year old girl," he said with a short laugh. "You'll understand when you get older…or maybe you won't. I think I've wasted enough of your time, though, I'm sure Lucas is looking for you by now."

"I enjoyed chatting with you," Leona said as she stood up. "I always think there's a solution to every problem and yours are no different."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now run along already. Good luck at the tournament."

Leona said her thanks to the conflicted man and made her way to the central marketplace where Zelos indicated Lucas and the twins might be. Along the way, her mind remained on the conversation she'd just had. She knew so much more about him and Sheena and she wondered what she should do with such information. She found that she liked having that knowledge and that she was trusted enough for him to share it. Maybe she truly was a nosy person at heart. She wished she knew as much about everyone else as well. Suddenly, she was looking forward to the journey she still yet had in front of her since it was with three people she decided she knew very little about.

AN: Another chapter finished. I can't believe I reached another 8,000 words with this one and I still hadn't gotten to everything I wanted to get to. In fact, I had to change the chapter title because of it. Having an outline is nice, but when I start writing it takes much longer for me to completely say what I want to say. Let me also warn you that I do love dialogue so don't be surprised if you see more of these conversation heavy chapters…I hope you don't mind. Also, just want to put this out there: I've gotten a lot of complaints about Regal/Raine so I'm probably just going to put something on the first chapter that says what story they should read to convince themselves of it. After that, I'm probably just not going to respond to reviews that have just that questions as I've answered it many times now...And if you're wondering, try reading "One Of Us" by MixedBreedMaiya. She's a better writer than I am and is probably responsible for converting many readers into Regaine fans.

StarlightDiamond: There was an alleged love letter that turned out not being a love letter at all, but the fact that they would add such an unnecessary event into the game is enough to raise eyebrows. It was more of a teaser and not a confirmation of any sort of connection to each other, but I did look at this very closely. Raine gave Regal a secret letter that everyone then assumed was a love letter. Raine never indicated that it was and Regal didn't either. Why would everyone simply jump to those conclusions? Genis, Marta, and Emil all thought it was and neither Raine nor Regal corrected them. They could have said it was something else besides a love letter-a letter could have a plethora of topics. If it was supposed to be secret, why would you allow everyone to blow it out of proportion and not clarify it as something else boring in nature? During the time in the game, Regal was in your party not Raine and there were two or three skits pertaining to that darn letter. Regal was just going along with the program not denying or correcting anyone-it was rather cute. In fact I think he was enjoying all the ambiguity. It got to the point that even I was starting to think it was an actual love letter. I remember Marta stating that she was envious of their "mature" relationship and then she began asking him for relationship tips pertaining to Emil-what's more surprising is that Regal totally humored her. Now that I think about it, I think that was the best part of the game for me(lol). The whole not-love letter thing was dragged out for a long time before it was finally revealed that it was nothing of the sort. But Raine and Regal REALLY like keeping secrets from people...

That was a long explanation, but that love letter debacle is really the only canon evidence there is. As for a good story to convince you of their relationship, I've fallen in love with a certain writer who's pen name on this site is MixedBreedMaiya. She writes a lot of Regal/Raine stories and I love all of them, but her first few ones weren't the best. Her writing skills increased steadily and I'd say "One of Us" is the best she's written and ironically the one she hasn't finished yet. There's 17 chapters and its a really worthwhile read. She has their relationship and emotions down to a "t". Might even convert you into a Regaine. (In fact, I might just read it again in just be in awe of superior writing skills...)

Also, I just want to mention about Presea that I forgot to mention before. She's physically the same age as Genis. Now she's chronologically 28, but can we really say that she's been developing normally mentally? Her aging process ceased, but along with that her emotions were suppressed and she fell into a monotonous routine. She was hardly thinking during those years. She didn't even realize her father was rotting away in that bed. She was stuck in a time loop really. She still has trouble expressing herself emotionally and in my book that makes her a child despite living for so long. She wasn't really "living" in the first place. Now she is, however. She wouldn't be Regal's speed at all. And from what I can see from her relationship with him, it's more of a daughter/father bond. Pawpads Society? Really? No love letter gag there...

ApplejackFan-Ema and EvaS: Read "One of Us" by MixedBreedMaiya