Don't be frightened by the number of chapters. Read this instead.

O-Dai is a term some of you might be familiar with, and some of you may have not heard f it before.

From the Japanese "O-Dai" basically means "Theme". The Japanese have the custom in which, given a game or a certain character, a list of Themes (O-Dai) is given by a single person (a web-master, most of the time) and the rest of the people are invited to use those themes.

The most common O-dai is a drawing. However, my drawing skills aren't all good, so I've decided to write them instead.

This isn't a work meant to be connected in between. All of these stories are to be read as individual one-shots, and my main objective is to write as many as possible so that the fans can have enough of their "literature".

So say one day you're feeling like reading something dark and angsty. Then you just choose from one whose title includes the category "Dark". If you're feeling in for fluff, you can just find one of the "10 Cups of Sugar" one while you may read the "Normal" one when you just want light romance.

The O-dai I've decided to use come from the Zeroshii-Wa, which will be linked at the top of every chapter, and whose link can be found in my profile as well. I chose them because there are many of them. Do visit, but don't steal please.

http//deburu98249.jog. /

Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia, Zelos Wilder, Sheena Fujibayashi and any other character that might appear here are not of my belonging nor do I claim ownership over them in any way.


Warnings: Varied innuendo (nothing too bad), there might be some spicy humor (this is Zelos people, c'mon), random fluff, bunch-of-one-shots. There might be some OOC at some point or another.


Normal Version,

#1 – A First Step


Some people said that the first step was the hardest. That everything afterwards came naturally.

How many first steps were needed, Sheena wondered?

From her point of view they had already stepped forward. Zelos had gone to visit her and instead of making some sorry excuse he had simply explained said he had wanted to see her face.

Wasn't that a good enough first step? It should be, she thought. Then why weren't things moving naturally and smoothly? They were still friends and they still quarreled like elementary school kids every now and then and he still flirted with every single woman alive.

Perhaps, the summoner had decided one day, it was because he was expecting her to do something too. Being the idiot he was he didn't realize she, too, just wanted to see his face.

But to say something like that… to step forward! It was too difficult for her, and instead came easy to him, it seemed. He was always stepping forward with women.

Then why had it felt so different then, standing under the morning sun at Mizuho?

…because it had been different. Because he was being sincere. Had it been hard for him? Had he been afraid?

"Sheeee-naaaaa," she snapped out of her reverie to find the one who had been occupying her thoughts half-glaring at her, resting his head on one hand on top the table. The over-all effect was like being glared at by a puppy. "You've been distracted all day long! You weren't even listening right now, were you?"

In front of her there was a half-melted ice cream. "A – As if you were saying anything important!"

"How would you know! You weren't listening! I could have even been saying the King has secret plans to invade Sylvarant…"

"The King wants to invade Sylvarant?"

Again the silly hurt look. "Of course not…! You weren't listening properly even now, see?" the redheaded sighed and let his head fall onto the table. "And I had finally gotten some free time to spend with you, too…"

"Feh. You sound as if I being distracted was the worst thing that could've happened today…" Sheena went back to eating what was left of her ice cream.

"Well, yeah… you could've cancelled."

"See? Stop whining then."

"Fine, fine," he whined anyway, without getting up from the table. "I'll try and settle for having you here."

He had been doing that a lot, lately. At every possible chance he would remind her that he was always wanting to see her, or that he was happy when they were together, or that he really enjoyed talking with her.

Was he in love?

Was she in love? That one was trickier.

Perhaps that was the first step. Forget all about kisses and holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. That came out later, right? Naturally. Smoothly.

The first step was just admitting, perhaps… admitting that she, too, was always waiting for a chance to see him, that she too was happy when they were together…

Well, it was easy enough to admit that to oneself. Now, to tell him

"Sheeee-naaaaa, you're getting distracted again!"

…well, that was harder.

"Stop whining already, I told you!"

"But you aren't paying any attention to me today! That's not fair!"

"Zelos, you're acting like a four-year old…"

"If that's what it takes to make you look at me, then…"

"Don't you dare…"

"I wannan ice-cream!"

"You already had one."

"Then I want cotton candy! And I wanna ride a pony!"

"Fine, I'll give you my undivided attention but shut up!"

With an all-too satisfied grin Zelos got up and, taking her by the arm, dragged her out of the small café and into the city, where Sheena had to concentrate in order to stop thinking and pay attention to him.

It wasn't that hard after the first seven minutes: Zelos was something (or someone, whichever fit) that always managed to enclose her and make her forget about everything that wasn't warm and had red hair and blue eyes.

Perhaps that's why it had seemed so urgent lately that she, too, stepped forward.

So later, once the sky was covered by the stars and he had accompanied her all the way to the gates of Mizuho, she decided it was now or never.

(or perhaps now or in a few more weeks, but that would be being a coward, and that was the one thing Sheena Fujibayashi didn't consider herself to be)

"So," he had said, sounding quite happy with the way things had gone, "When d'you think I'll be able to see you again, mh?"

She looked at his eyes, sparkling even in the darkness, and felt a knot quickly forming in her throat.

"Not saying? Then I guess I'll have to decide…"

"Soon."

He blinked and half-smiled. "What did you say hunny? I don't think I heard you correctly…"

"You stupid Chosen! You heard me perfectly well!"

"Ooh, I seem to be suffering of sudden deafness! Care to repeat that word from before?"

"Soon! I want to see you soon! Happy now? You idiot!"

Zelos, however, didn't seem to have heard the last words, since he lifted her up in a tight hug. "Of couuuurse I'm happy! Because now you can't say no when I ask you out, you know! Ahahahahahahahaha, yay!"

"You just said 'yay', didn't you? Lemme down already, you perverted Chosen!"

"Aheheheheh… nope."

"…idiot."

Funny how every time one of them stepped forward it ended with him laughing and her calling him an idiot. Well, it wasn't as if she meant it. So it wasn't a bad thing.

And perhaps it all didn't mean much. But it was fine for the moment… a first step was a first step, right?


Notes: Er, ah…

There's still not enough Zeroshii/Sheelos in the world!

(if you noticed, my reasons for writing the Rodeo Ride Tour was exactly the same - not enough Sheelos)

And I don't have time to write a long, multi-chapter story, so… even though I don't very much like writing one-shots, I've decided to imitate the Japanese fans and write the

So I'm starting with the "Normal Version", afterwards we have the "Fun Version", then the "Dark Version" and finally the "10 Cups of Sugar" version. I don't know whether I'll be good at writing these things though… it's the first time I'll try my hand at any O-dai.

And yes, I'm planning on doing them all. So you might get a lot of short stories. Or you might not – on what depends? First, the amount of free time I have. Then, inspiration. Finally, response… as superficial as this might sound, good reviews do encourage writers, and even more when/if they have ideas and critique included.

So there! I'll try to update once or twice a week.

WDR


Next O-Dai

#2 – Meeting

(so now you know what kind of ideas I could use!)