Disclaimer: Sadly, nothing in Shadow Hearts is mine. Although I would love to own Yuri. And if Yuri wasn't available, perhaps Keith. Barring either, I want Yuri's talisman, Alice's cross, and Anne's cross (goes and stuffs her loot into the hiding place). What can I say I'm a kleptomaniac!

**

Yuri knocked and stood in front of the door, patiently waiting for about two seconds before knocking again. Because truthfully, he wasn't very patient. "Alice! Are you in there?!"

The door opened and Alice looked at him, a little surprised. "Is it already one?"

"Yeah…you didn't hear the clock?" In Alice's hometown, there was a clocktower that rung each hour. It was too loud to ignore, especially where he lived—right next to it. It managed to wake him up at every single hour in the night.

"Um, sorry…just wait a few seconds, I'll go get the table cloth," she said. "Come on in." After closing the door behind Yuri, she ran off to get the cloth.

Yuri waited in the foyer, which was actually pretty large. Alice and her mother lived in a nice house, not at all like the flat he lived in. While their house was too large for only two, decorated and filled with light, his flat was cramped, bare, and dark. And right next to the stupid clocktower too.

"Alright, I'm ready," Alice said, bringing with her a basket. She checked inside to make sure that the tablecloth and sandwiches were inside, along with some other food.

"I'll take it," Yuri said, grabbing the basket. He opened the door and then stood aside, winking at her. "Ladies first."

"Since when are you a gentleman?" She laughed as she walked out, and then looked around. "Oh…"

"What's wrong?"

She pointed up and Yuri saw a few dark clouds near the horizon. "It might rain. I don't know if they'll come over here or not. Maybe we shouldn't have the picnic?"

"Huh? But this is the last time we can be alone! Everyone's coming tomorrow. Come on, the wind will probably change before the clouds come here."

Alice thought about this and said, "I don't know…"

Yuri made a pouting face. "Please?"

Alice laughed and agreed. Together they set off for the park, making small chat as they walked. Alice knew all the neighbors and they often stopped so she could say hello to them. Yuri was quickly becoming well known around the neighborhood too, but for different reasons. Many found it curious that Alice, the daughter of a conservative priest, well bred and with proper manners, was being courted by a atheist who used profanities constantly and who seemed to have a shady past. The fact that Yuri was also half-Japanese played no small role in fanning the flames. There were plenty of rumors in the town about the two and how they had gotten together and what Yuri's intentions were. Not that Yuri or Alice knew about the rumors. Both of them were happy, especially since tomorrow they were going to meet with all their friends again. Just one last time, before Halley and his mother left for America.

"Goodbye Mrs. Chadwick!" Alice called, waving to the elderly woman as she closed the door. "I think she likes you," she said to Yuri.

"She seems really friendly. All these people here seem nice," Yuri said. "All around nice town."

Alice smiled, glad to hear Yuri shared her opinion. "Isn't it great?"

"Boring," Yuri yawned.

Her look of happiness turned to one of irritation. True, it wasn't always the most exciting, but did he have to say that? Seeing her face, Yuri laughed and put his free arm around Alice, hugging her close. "I'm joking. It's not boring at all. This is a great town."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I really like this place. 'Cept for the clock."

Alice grinned remembering how many times he had shown up at her house looking like a seasick zombie because he couldn't sleep. "You should've gotten another place to stay."

"That was the only place I could afford," he said.

"You could've stayed with us," Alice said. "Mother would've let you stay in the guestroom."

"Your mom chased me out of the house the first time we met."

"What did you expect?" Alice asked him. "You were a bit too forward the first time. That and…" Alice knew another reason her mother would not have liked Yuri, but she didn't want to mention it. She didn't care about it, and it was trivial. "Well, it doesn't matter now. She likes—" A drop of rain splashed on Alice's hand and she looked up curiously. Rain clouds had come in their direction, despite their hopes. "It's raining."

"Just a little," Yuri said. At the moment it was just a small drizzle, rather refreshing in fact.

"Not enough to ruin the picnic," she agreed, slipping out of Yuri's hold and walking a few feet ahead of him. "Let's get to the park fast. Come on…see if you can catch me!" With that she gave a mischievous smile, rarely seen from her, and started running along the street toward the park.

"H-hey! Give me a fair warning," Yuri complained, already starting to run. "Alice, I have the basket!"

Still, Yuri was the faster runner. He chased Alice for five minutes as they made their way to the park, neither noticing as the rain became heavier. Most people were inside now and the streets were empty, but they continued the chase until Yuri grabbed Alice's shoulder with his free hand at the edge of the park.

He grinned with triumph. "Got you."

She smiled at him too, panting slightly to catch her breath. "Yeah." She checked her braid, making sure none of her white-blond hair had fallen out. "Wow, it's been a while since I've had to run like that."

Yuri laughed and said, "Yeah, how long's it been since you've been up against a monster? Almost five months now, right?"

Alice thought about the dates and nodded. "Almost. But you've kept busy." Ever since her father's death, Alice's mother was more protective of her daughter. She didn't practice exorcisms anymore. But Yuri continued hunting monsters. He needed the money. Also, he'd found it hard to get a job in Alice's town, so he might as well do something he was skilled at.

The rain came down harder and at last the two noticed that they were getting a little wet. It wasn't too bad, but if it got worse…

"Dammit," Yuri swore, looking up at the sky. "Stupid weather."

"Let's go under the gazebo. We won't get wet so much," Alice suggested, and they both jogged through the park, keeping near crabapple trees as they went to be covered. The wind picked up a little as they ran and it started to feel a little cold. Finally they reached the gazebo and watched as lightning struck for the first time.

"Looks like a storm," Alice said pessimistically. And here they were, stuck like idiots in the middle of it all.

"Well, we can still have a picnic under here," Yuri said, although he was a little pissed off about the weather too. He opened up the picnic basket and found ham sandwiches and some soup in a container with two small bowls for it. He shook out the picnic cloth and laid it out. "Hey Alice, aren't you hungry?"

She sat down, saying, "I'll have some of the soup." She shivered just a little bit.

Yuri looked up at her and realized that she had to be cold in her short blue dress [A/N: yes, the one from SH]. He gave her some of the thick soup and then took off his trench coat and put it around her shoulders. "Better?"

Even though she was now comfortable, Alice's blue eyes showed concern as she asked, "Won't you get cold?"

Yuri shook his head though and said, "My shirt's pretty warm." He wore a long-sleeved blue shirt that was still dry. For himself Yuri took a ham sandwich and proceeded to rip into it.

It was too funny for Alice; she was giggling as she asked, "Hungry?"

"Famished. Oh man, you would not believe what I've had to go through this week." This morning he had returned from a job in a nearby town where the people had been under attack from banshees. "Hordes of them. I was fighting against ten at the same time once. Turned out there'd been some kind of sick cult sacrificing girls that they thought were virgins. People can be idiotic as hell. I actually had to take out the cult AND keep the banshees back until they could get an exorcist from somewhere about a day away. A whole freaking day." And of course, Yuri emphasized the fact that he hadn't had much to eat. "They had only one restaurant and I swear that cook could burn water. Mmm, this soup is delicious," he mentioned as he started on his portion. "That reminds me, I have to buy more Thera root and Pure root. I used almost all of it up on myself."

"What about the Mana seed?"

"No, I've still got a good amount."

"So who was this exorcist?"

"Huh? Oh, her name's Lilia. You know what's weird?"

"What?" Alice was interested. Usually just an exorcist being female was odd enough; she should know, having been one.

"She's a little kid. I think she's even younger than Halley, and she's already fighting monsters on her own! Not only that, she's pretty powerful for her age. Those banshees just cleared out the minute they saw her." Yuri shook his head, having been clearly impressed by the exorcist. "You know what's even more strange? I never knew there was an exorcist of the Dark class. I'd never heard of it before. To be honest, I didn't think it was possible."

"A Dark class exorcist? I haven't heard of one either…she sounds like a pretty unusual girl…"

"The only thing that wasn't unusual was how hard she fell for me…" Yuri said with a big grin, waiting for Alice's reaction. He got it, a rather cold glare at him. Ignoring it, he continued, "Yep, it's the same with all the girls, they get a glimpse of the great Yuri Hyuga and they can't get enough of him."

"You have the largest ego ever," Alice muttered.

"Do I hear a note of jealousy?"

"You are hearing your head inflating with its own hot air."

"Ouch." Yuri pouted and said, "Come on, I'm just kidding. Don't get mad."

"I'm not mad," Alice said, her tone telling Yuri the exact opposite. For now he decided to change the topic.

"Doesn't look like the rain will stop anytime soon," he said after a minute. It was the most stupid topic in the world, the weather, but also the most infallible.

"This from the same person that said it probably wouldn't rain," Alice replied.

Yuri felt embarrassed and corrected himself. The weather was not an infallible topic. Especially not when Alice was annoyed with him. He looked around the park; there were a variety of trees and bushes but not a single person besides Alice and him. No one except Alice and him…

He waited until Alice seemed to have gotten in a better mood and said, "You know what's good about the rain?"

"What?" Alice said curiously. It was true that she had quickly forgiven Yuri; he liked getting her riled up like that often and she was used to it by now.

"No one's out here but us."

That was true. Alice couldn't imagine why anyone else would want to be outside in this weather. "So?"

"No one can see us. And your mother is not going to hear about this from anyone."

"About what? I already told her about the pic-" She stopped as Yuri leaned forward and kissed her. It was a short kiss before Yuri pulled back and winked at her.

"Does she have to hear about this?"

Alice was a little startled, but she was beginning to smile. Maybe there were some good things about rainy days. "No, I suppose not."

**

Dark fog covered the room's floor, but the girl inside could see perfectly well what was on it. She frowned as she studied the scene. Her mistress would not be pleased.

As if responding to her thoughts, the single door to the chamber opened and a beautifully slim figure with long and fiery red hair entered the room.

"I see. You are studying him again? Don't you think he is interesting?"

"Not for the same reasons as you find him so," the brunette responded. "But look. He is doing it. Again," she said, a note of contempt in her voice.

"Do not worry. It is nothing."

"But look at this girl. Her appearance and power…isn't it similar to Sa-"

"Don't you dare mention her name!" The taller woman made a movement almost to strike the smaller and younger one. The girl flinched, but the woman suddenly stopped and instead, gently stroked her cheek. "I am sorry, dear. I did not mean to frighten you. Do you forgive me?"

The girl opened her dark brown eyes and nodded. "Of course, milady. I apologize. I should not have mentioned her."

"All is forgiven," the woman said, smiling sweetly. She looked at the dark cloud of fog and said, "Besides, if it is truly her, then it may be all for the better. This time, she will get the punishment she earned last time. He will take care of her."

"But, milady…"

"Trust me. Trust me, Persephone."

**

8:30 p.m.

Alice checked the whole house again; making sure everything was clean and orderly. Both her mother and she had cleaned the large house and finally both agreed that only a miracle would approve its appearance. Not like it needed a miracle now. Alice figured that both her mother and she shared a tendency to nit-pick, but it was hard not to, seeing as how everyone would be coming over tomorrow.

Zhuzhen, Margarete, Halley, Koudelka and Keith. Just one more time…Just one last time…and then Halley and Koudelka would leave for America. Well, they'd have a whole week together. That would be long enough, right?

She remembered Yuri's comment when she had first proposed the idea: "Yep. We'll drive each other so insane they'll only be too happy to go."

Satisfied that everything was still as clean as it had been an hour ago, she went up the spiraling staircase and went towards the bathroom. She closed the door and turned the latch before taking off her skirt. Then she leaned over and turned the hot water on for a nice bath.

8:30 p.m. (Yuri)

Yuri meanwhile was still at the pub, trying to find out if there were any new rumors about monsters. He wasn't finding any.

He guessed that was a good thing, since everyone was coming over tomorrow. Heck, maybe the monsters had decided to have a holiday, just for them.

Yuri snorted as he waved away that thought. Yeah, that would be the day.

He decided to leave then. It was earlier then when he usually left, but there didn't seem to be anything really interesting going on. Besides, he probably shouldn't be looking for trouble right now. In most cases, trouble came to him easily enough. And not now, when everyone was coming over…

He drained off the last of his beer and left the money on the counter. Time to call it a day, and go home.

9:00 p.m. (Alice)

Alice finished pulling on her white nightgown with blue ribbons and lay down on her bed. Now that it was spring, the weather was getting warmer and now that the rain had stopped, it was quite nice.

She smiled contentedly as she buried her face into the pillow beneath her. Today had been very nice, but a little rare. Her mother was nice, but sometimes she could be a bit too overprotective of her daughter—especially when it came to boys. And usually Alice knew that if she tried anything her mother would hear about it from someone in town. Just kissing seemed impossible. Wait until you're married, yes, yes, she would do that. But there was nothing wrong with a few kisses. Well, maybe not just a few. But still, kisses.

Wait until you're married…Alice tossed a bit in her bed, considering this. She wanted—she was sure she wanted—to marry Yuri. But did he want to marry her? Did he love her?

Of course he does, Alice reassured herself. He loves me, he shows it constantly. About marriage though, she could not be so sure. She wasn't sure, she'd never asked—it'd be too rude—but he seemed to have been with many other girls before. Maybe he'd loved them all, and maybe—

She broke that trail of thought off before it would go too far. Yuri has risked his life for me, she thought. Yuri fought against Atman with me, even though he didn't have to. He would not have done that for just any girl, right?

Satisfied with that thought, she looked at the waning moon, small in its high place in the sky, and gently fell to sleep.

9:00 p.m. (Yuri)

Yuri stepped into the small, one-room flat. The bathroom was located at the end of the street, and heaven help you if you had to go during piss hour (which was around eleven or twelve, when the guys came back full of beer). The walls were bare of even paint and the place felt empty and desolate.

It was true that he didn't have to live here, he probably could move into Alice's house. And if he'd been using all his income, he could get a nicer place. Nothing like Alice's house, but still nice.

However, at the moment he was saving up money. He took the pay from his recent job and counted out ten percent of it. Then he set that aside in his little hiding place, underneath one of the more loose floorboards. There was already quite a bit in there, a little more, a few more months and…

Yuri smiled and covered the money up. Wait for the right time. Until then, he would just have to work a bit more. He yawned and took off his shirt, going over to his pile of blankets on the floor. He found the little trick that seemed to help him sleep through the clock, cotton balls, and stuffed them in his ears, then went to sleep.

(Alice's dream)

Fire…

There was fire all around me…

Bright, orange-red fire licking at my skin, burning it. I was screaming…I was screaming so loudly, with tears streaming down my face. I prayed for the smoke to choke me, choke me and make the suffering end…but there was no smoke…there was fire, but not a single puff of smoke. Perhaps it was a magical fire…but one so strong and powerful…

No…maybe this was Hell… Why though, what had I done that was so wrong, so evil? Please, this couldn't be…this could not be…

Through the agony, I became vaguely aware of someone else's presence. A presence that held such hate and contempt for me that it seemed to have no limit…such a strong feeling…

"Lucifer…" I breathed softly. The devil himself.

"No, that is another one. Try again."

A female voice. I tried to ignore the tremendous pain and asked, "Help me. Help me please."

"Oh, no. This is where you belong. I want you to burn for eternity," she said spitefully.

My voice cracked as I begged to know, "Why?"

"This is your fault, mortal. You brought this down on yourself. To trifle with a god…to trifle with me…is not a small matter at all."

"You…a goddess?"

"Those who know me best call me Goddess of the Hellfire. Once you were my enemy but now for this, you are my rival, and you shall suffer all the more for it." Responding to her words, the flame burned even more, and I screamed in pain and anguish—

**

"Alice! Alice! Please, wake up! Alice!"

My eyes flew open and I stared at my surprised mother. She relaxed slightly as she realized I was now awake and she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

"I heard you scream and I was so startled, dear…I thought someone had broken in…! What on earth were you dreaming about?"

I was limp in her embrace as I allowed myself to cry, feeling like a little girl. "I was in Hell. I was in Hell." My body still ached from the fire, even though it had only been a dream. My skin felt raw, and my back screamed bloody murder if mother pressed too hard. "Please…Mother, let go…" She did, reluctantly and I tried to focus my energy to heal myself. Gradually, the pain lessened until it was gone, but just thinking about it—

The clock struck and I realized it was one in the morning.

"I'm sorry Mother," I heard myself say. "It was just a dream. I'm sorry to have woken you up."

She stared at me with her hazel eyes and said, "If that dream actually hurt you Alice, I doubt it was just a dream."

"I'll be fine," I insisted. "Please, go back to bed. I'll be alright."

She sat with me for five more minutes and then left only reluctantly, leaving the light on still. I shut it off and lay back. I could understand her reluctance. I did not want to sleep. That dream had felt so real and been so painful…Almost like what it was like being in Yuri's Graveyard…

(Yuri's Dream)

I was standing in the graveyard. There was a woman in front of me.

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Why was I called here?"

None of the questions were answered. She only stepped forward and brushed my face gently.

"You're like her…Like both of them…"

"Don't you remember?"

"Try to remember…for me, Hyuga…"

"Do you still have the brooch I made you?"

"The brooch?" I asked. "What brooch?"

"The brooch I made for you…It was one of your favorite things…"

I looked at her, at her dark crimson eyes and fiery hair. She was pretty tall, almost as tall as me, and with skin pale and nearly translucent. "I would've remembered someone like you."

"There are many things you think you would remember. But she placed a spell on you. She took you away, Hyuga…"

"Who's she?" I asked curiously. "Is she someone I know?"

"But rest assured Hyuga…I will take you back."

**

I woke up and cursed as the clock struck one, cotton balls falling out of my ears. "Dammit, right in the middle of a dream too…what was that all about?" I wondered.

A/N: Yay! It took me like 4 days to write 7 crummy pages, but they're done! And then stupid fanfiction.net was being all pissy about formatting…

Now, let me see, there's something else I'm s'pose to say…The picnic scene comes from something I wanted to do for a different SH fanfic that is as of yet, nonexistent. The reason Yuri teases Alice is just because he seemed to me like the kind of person who likes ticking others off for fun. I do that kind of stuff all the time. If the mood seems a little inconsistent, bear with me here. Before you review just to tell me my point of view keeps switching, I already know it does and did that on purpose. I experimenting here, okay?

If anyone is curious about why I started this fanfic, it's because no one else is updating their SH fanfics. For me, fanfiction.net's game section seems to be slowing down with updates (I check all my categories and there's only two new things that I like!). So, this is kind of my prod to get other people to start. I guess. I might do this in other categories too if this works (FFX needs a push, and Breath of Fire). I don't know. I usually have a whole bunch of ideas for fanfictions but I'm not a great writer, and I'm a procrastinator, so I don't really finish my fanfictions (although part of it is that fanfiction.net always gives me hell about the formatting).

Attention: If you've played SH (and if not, why are you here?) tell me what your highest ranking in the Score section is in the menu. The highest I've gotten is #7, which is one of the masks (I think Gold/Grail).

Of course then I realized I'd screwed my chance to get the Seraphic Radiance yet again, meaning I'm reloading my game at Kuihai tower (Dehuai's place, the place with the dirty magazine, etc). One day I'll get it… I SWEAR I WILL!!!

Okay. Shutting up.

This story assumes you got the good ending in Shadow Hearts and defeated Atman. It also assumes you got a certain item…

If you find any errors, inconsistencies with the game, tell me and I'll fix it… If you find any errors with the story and setting tell me and I'll try to fix it…And if you've read this far, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask: review!