Something I thought I'd give a try with....

Tales of Symphonia - The Terror of Gaoracchia Forest
By Chaos Knight Matthew

In the vastness of Gaoracchia Forest, various monsters lurk in it's shadows. Undertakers, Phantoms and Ghouls wander around in the shadows of the trees while the Pumpkin Trees, Boxer Iris' and the Tropical Worms wander through the trails, but there was one monster there that wasn't wandering, nor was it moving actually. It was merely sleeping, as it did during the summer/fall conditions of this part of the year. It appeared to be human at a distance, but the gigantic, muscular bare arms, along with dark green fur that covered his torso and legs made it look like a rock if anything. The mouth on his human-like face slowly opened and closed with it's breathing, heavy eyebrows above it's closed eyes, dark, dirty hair spread around it's head, ears pointed on the ends. It was leaning against a tree near one of the trails, but the other monsters dare not disturb it's slumber, for it was well know among them for this being to be the king of Gaoracchia Forest, and it didn't like to be awakened by anyone other than his time of awakening in the spring time, when it is active again.

Very close to it, a group of travelers were making their way through. They had been fighting the monsters that had charged them as they were getting through, but they seemed unharmed. The leader was a brown-haired boy in red leather armor, carrying two swords. Behind him and down the line was a young yellow haired girl in a blue striped white outfit two Chakras at her side, a Half-Elf woman carrying a staff, another one, but it was a young boy with a toy on his side, a twin pony tailed pink haired girl in a purple outfit and a brown item bag on her back which was just below her Axe, a big breasted Ninja girl and a man wearing a red jacket with white pants. They made their way to an opening with two paths in it, one left and one right. Before they had a chance to choose, another man with his hands bound ambushed them into a battle who was good with Grieves. The sounds of the battle was slowly getting to the being who was supposed to be asleep at this time. The battle ended with a loud shout of a final attack, but it only knocked out the bound man. After a discussion, they decided to carry him to a nearby village, which was the ninja village he was going to raid once he woke up from his hibernation.

The being slowly opened it's eyes and growled, looking around for the source of it's disturbance. Getting up and stretching it's limbs almost like a cat would, it walks over to the trail and sniffs the area for a scent. He found one among the eight that were there, one that smelled of trees and metal. Backing into the forest, it waits for the person to return... to punish her for waking it from it's slumber...

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As soon as the reached the Gate to Mizuho, the group, Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Collet, and Presea were asked to hand over their weapons. They complied, not wanting to cause any troubles for the village they were visiting for the first time.

Once in Mizuho, Zelos strikes out on his own.

"Hey there pretty girl!" He said to one of the Kimono-clad girls near the entrance. They talk for a moment. Lloyd sighs at his constant pursue of women.

"Alright, we'll head on to the Item and Equipment shop, Presea. Think you could keep an eye on our prisoner?" Lloyd asks her. Presea nods, looking towards the convict, who turned away from her gaze.

Lloyd's group quickly did their errands at the Item/Equipment shops, being sure to get at least ten Mizuho Potions for the road ahead. Lloyd and Raine both usually make it a habit to get at least ten of a new item, in case they ever would need it. Afterwards, they went into the chief's house. One of the villagers, an elderly man in a dark blue kimono and a black obi, looked over to Presea, then walked over to her, his gaze a little grim.

"Have you noticed, little one?" He asks her calmly. He was wearing a normal dark blue kimono, had brown hair, a thin pair of glasses and was quite old. "Have you noticed the evil that has been lurking inside of the forbidden forest?" He asked her in a rather menacing tone. Presea didn't say anything, nor did her expression change as he spoke. He was getting a little annoyed. "Are you listening to me little one?"

"Yes..." Presea responded. "Stop calling me little one. I am busy and I have no time for your stories now." She told him in a monotone voice as she resumed her watch over the convict. Annoyed, the old man started to say something when he was interrupted by a younger girl almost around Presea's age.

"Grandpa! What are you up to?" A blue-haired young girl, sixteen years of age wearing a pink Furisode with flowers decorated on the long sleeves and brown sandles, came up to the old man. The sleeves were a bit shorter than normal Furisode kimonos so that she could wear it wherever she went and not worry about wearing out the bottom of them. She sighed as she took his arm in hand. "Sorry about this, my Grandpa can get a little, " She looks directly at him with a look that could kill. "Overdramatic." The old man backed away for a moment before apologizing and went back towards the residents area. He had a look of fear on his face as he went away. The young girl giggles as she watches him return to his home. "He can get carried away with his stories sometimes. Usually best to catch him before he starts. I'm Kanani Jasotia. What's your name?"

Presea slowly turned to the girl, her expression not changing at the slightest. "Presea Combatier." She said, looking over the girl with her eyes. Kanani was doing the same.

"You don't get out much, do you?" Kanani asks Presea, noticing her lack of talking since she came up to her.

"When I am working I do" Presea responds to her, then turns back around to look over the convict. He was looking at her while her back was turned. She knew this because he turned away form her again to avoid her gaze.

"Hey! It is rude to turn your back on someone who is talking to you! Have you no manners at all along with your loneliness?" Kanani asks her, snapping at her for turning her back on her. She went next to her just as Presea turned back to her, looking at her with her emotionless gaze. "See, there it is again! Your loneliness. I can see it in your face." The girl pointed out. "So, what is it that you do, other than being a security guard?"

Presea was quiet at first, then responded. "I prepare sacred wood." She said to Kanani, not really wanting to talk to her.

"Oh! You work for the church in Meltokio, don't you? I've heard of that place from Sheena-sama, but I have yet to visit it." She said with a smile. "You wouldn't happen to be doing anything later on today, would you?" Kanani asked her. She felt like she needed a friend and so she wanted to hang out with her for a while, although something else had begun to rise from inside her. Kanani wasn't sure at first what it was, so she pushed it to the side for now. If she could get this girl alone with her she may be able to understand what it was that she was feeling.

Presea looked back on the convict, who again looked away. "I don't know how long Lloyd and the others are going to be. I am supposed to be watching this man until they get back." She said.

"So, you do have friends after all?" Kanani said to her, a little hint of something in her voice.

"They're not my friends... just companions." Presea corrected her.

"So~ You can meet me later on at the forbidden forest?"

Presea thought about this for a moment. "That forest isn't safe for anyone, why would you want to meet me there?" She asks her, her voice still not showing any emotion.

"There's a safe spot there, where no monsters go to, and it's not too far from the main entrance on our end. I just wanted to... Talk with you some more." She said with a smile. Though Presea wasn't looking at her eyes, so she didn't see that she had a little twinkle in them. "It's a hidden path to the right just past the first opening."

"Hmm. Alright. I suppose so." Presea responded. "What time?"

"Evening, when the sun is half-way down." Kanani replies, then turns to go back up to her hut. She turns back just before she enters it and waves to her before going in. Presea continued her watch as she waited. This seemed to be an interesting meeting for her... maybe this is what she needed to break out of her shell? She pondered on the thought as the day went on.

An hour later, Lloyd and the group came out of the chief's hut.

"Looks like we'll be staying the night, so everyone get comfortable." Lloyd said to the others, then he turned to Presea. "Thanks for watching him. I'll take over for now. Let's go ahead and find a place to rest." He said to her and the others. Presea was still thinking about what that girl said to her as she followed them. The sun was nearing the trees around them, though it was still in the sky. She would have to wait a little longer before heading out into the forbidden forest to the meeting spot Kanani mentioned.

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It is now sunset...

Most of the villagers are now going to sleep early, save for a few working on various things.

Shops were closed, the Chief's hut locked... but one Mizuho citizen was doing the opposite of everyone else.

Her name... is Kanani, and she was heading for the forest....

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Presea looked to the sky from the window of the hut they were staying in. The sun was half above the trees. She looked over to the group, who were getting ready to settle in for the night. "I'm heading out for a moment." Presea said to them, heading for the door. Before anyone could question her, she was already gone.

At the opening to the Village, where Presea got her Axe from the guard there though he seemed to be asleep, she had met up with Kanani, who was waiting for her to come. She had a box on her side, similar to the one that Sheena has on her.

"C'mon. We're not normally supposed to be out here this late, but I convinced the guard to let us this time." She said to Presea as they left Mizuho and went to the forest.

Inside the forest, they had quickly found the small hidden opening where Kanani was speaking of. It was a nice spot that had some flowers with it, where it looked like the light from the sun and moon could reach there.

"Thank you for coming out here Presea..." Kanani said to her, smiling. She had a slight blush on her face for some reason. "I don't ever got to talk to people my own age anymore."

"It's ok." Presea said to her, still looking around the area. She had never seen this part of the forest before. No monsters lurked about here.

"Um... To be honest, there's something that I wanted to tell you." Kanani added, a bit of hesitation in her voice. She felt in her heart to confess this, though she was certain on this night that her feelings were true. Since Presea first set foot into her small, secret grove, she's felt more relaxed than with anyone that she had met before. "Ever since our first meeting in the village, I felt something inside of me, an emotion that I've never felt before, whenever I'm near you. When I had left to tend to Grandfather, I couldn't shake that feeling off, like it was nagging at me in a way..." Kanani said, looking away for a bit.

"I don't quite understand..." Presea said, confused at the words that the other girl was saying to her.

"I... I think I'm in love with you." Kanani said with a giggle, her face growing a little more red from embarrassment. Presea seemed to not do anything at first. Kanani looked directly at Presea's eyes. They seemed to not show any sign of anything in them, almost like how a doll's eyes would be. Did Presea feel disgusted that a girl like Kanani had fallen for her? She couldn't tell just from the look that Presea had at the moment. Kanani's smile slowly turned into a frown. "You... You think I'm silly for saying such things." She said to Presea, feeling like a fool for saying it so straightforward to this girl that she liked.

"No... I don't think so." Presea said, looking directly at Kanani, who's face appeared surprised by Presea's response. Though Kanani didn't know, the Crucis Crystal on Presea's neck was making it so she couldn't express emotion at all, pain, happiness, sadness, anger... But, she could still say her opinions on situations. "That is kind of you to admit something like that when there are no other people around. It-" Presea didn't get the chance to finish as something came over her mouth. Kanani had moved forward quickly and gave her a kiss on the mouth and was holding it as long as she could. Presea, caught off guard, had stopped speaking and went along with the kiss. Behind the force of the Crucis Crystal, Presea had also felt a kind of love for the girl as well, but the Crystal was holding back that emotion, though the force was weakening greatly. There was something behind this feeling that was trying to overpower the effects of the Cruxis Crystal. It was something that wasn't ever meant to happen, with the current properties of the Crystal. The Crystal itself made a crack down the center of it the longer the kiss was held and it glowed slightly, trying to regain control of the host it was connected to.

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Back at the hut, Lloyd was looking outside to the village from a window in his room. He was getting worried about Presea, even though they had just met recently. Genis came into the room, a worried look on his face as well.

"Lloyd... Do you know where Presea went to?" He asked his friend.

"No, she said that she was heading out, but she didn't say where." Lloyd said to him. "I'm still trying to figure out where she would go to around here."

"I don't really know either. Then again, we don't know too much about who she is to know where she could be..." Genis said to him. The others were worried about her too and were discussing about it in the other room.

"Well... If she doesn't return in the next thirty minuets, we need to start looking for her." Lloyd said, looking back out the window. "I'm getting the feeling she might be in trouble."

"Same he-" Before Genis could finish his sentence, he felt a shiver go through his spine, like something bad was about to happen.

"Genis? Are you ok?" Lloyd asks him, concerned for his friend.

"Y... Yeah, I think so." Genis said. "Just felt a cold wind pass through I think. I'm going to head to Sheena's Hut and ask her something."

"Ok. Be careful. I don't know what could be out there. Maybe I should come with you?" Lloyd said, not wanting to lose another companion and friend if there was something going on out there.

"I'll be fine, it's not too far away." Genis said as he left the room, leaving Lloyd to his thoughts. Lloyd decided to stay and wait for Presea if she did return.

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Presea felt a strange pain course through her as Kanani kissed her. It caught her off guard as she suddenly pulled away, panting hard. The Crucis Crystal cracked even more. Was the feeling that had generated from Kanani's kiss breaking the Crystal's hold? Presea placed a hand over the crystal, eyes slowly becoming bloodshot with each crack of the crystal.

"Presea? Presea!! Are you alright?!" Kanani asked her urgently.

"I... I don't know... I feel... pain..." Presea said as she clutched her chest, where the crystal was. Her eyes widen as another crack appeard on the crystal. She shouldn't be able to feel anything at all with it but why now? Kanani laid Presea down on her back, looking over the panting girl.

"I think I might be able to help with the pain... Hold on..." Kanani said with a grin as she kissed Presea once again. She was bringing her right hand up to Presea's chest, rubbing her small breasts lightly through the shirt she was wearing. The pain was still there, but Kanani's actions were starting to have a little effect on Presea.

"Ka... Kanani...What...?" Presea tried to ask before Kanani kissed Presea passionatly, sending her tounge into her mouth and explores around a little.

*To Be Continued*

What will become of Presea? What are Kanani's true purposes with her? Will the group find her in time?

Find out in Part 2 ^^