Hello! Always Together is one of my first Zestiria fanfics and I hope you'll like it! I would like to thanks Fjerilhaiva for having correting my writing. Also it is a pre-game OS so there aren't spoilers, don't worry!

Disclaimer: Tales of Zestiria doesn't belong to me but to Bandai Namco.

Always Together

Laying on the ground, stood legs and hands around their face, the two boys were reading a book together, forgetting about the world around them. They were at page 199: still one page and the book would be finished. They didn't like finishing books, but they were so eager to know the end that they read the final page. Then, the brunette boy closed the book while the silver haired one was lost in thought. With a soft smile, the brunette put the book away in the book case and went near the window, where he could see the rain falling quickly. He knew his friend enough to know that he shouldn't bother him when he was lost in thought. Perhaps he was still playing all the scenes of the story in his head? He couldn't blame him: the story had been great and even he would like to read some moments again.

Suddenly his friend stood up and came near him with determination.

"Sorey, from now on, I'll be your prince and I'll protect you!"

The brunette, Sorey, tilted his head.

"And I'll be the princess?"

"That's right!"

"But I'm a boy, Mikleo!"

"And? It doesn't matter."

"And why should I be the protected one?"

"Because…"

Mikleo crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking. Sorey waited for the answer and he already knew he wouldn't like it.

"Because you're a human!"

Here it was. Because he was the only human in a seraphim village, he was the weaker and, consequently, the princess. He pouted.

"That's mean!"

"That's the truth!"

"No it's not! I can prove it!"

Sorey had an idea. He knew that if Gramps knew about it, he would scold him so strongly that he would lose the capacity to use his ears. But he was ready for that if it meant showing that he wasn't a princess and above all weak because of his human nature. The little boy grinned, making the silver haired boy frowning. Now, he just had to wait the night.

"We shouldn't be here, Sorey." The little seraph whispered. "Gramps forbade us to come here, remember?"

Sorey didn't answer, too busy to listen to his friend. They had passed through the village's entrance and were now heading for the ruins nearby. Since they were barely nine years old, Gramps didn't want them to go to the Mabinogio ruins because it was "dangerous and they could feel the Evil coming from there". But for now Sorey didn't care at all about this dangerous place. He just wanted to prove to Mikleo that he wasn't a princess and, more than anything, he didn't need to be protected because he was a human.

"Sorey…"

"Mikleo." He sighed. "We won't go too far in the ruins. I just want to prove you that I'm not a princess."

"Okay then you're not a princess. Can we go back home now?"

"Weren't you the one who wanted to go to the ruins?"

"It was before Gramps told us there was something wrong in it!"

Sorey raised his eyes and continued his way, soon followed by a hesitant Mikleo. The little seraph knew it wasn't a good idea and that he should have shut up hours ago. It was all his fault if they were going to Mabinogio ruins now and he regretted it. Of course, Mikleo knew that Sorey wasn't a princess, but he also knew that, being a human, Sorey's life would be short. Really short. And he didn't want to lose him. That is why he wanted to protect him. Yet he couldn't tell Sorey: he didn't want to look like a baby.

They finally arrived at Mabinogio ruins entrance and Mikleo caught Sorey's cloak to stop him. He really didn't want to enter, not when even Gramps himself didn't want to enter.

"Sorey… We shouldn't…" He whispered.

"Stay here." His friend answered. "I'll go and I'll come back, okay?"

"No, don't go." Mikleo could feel the tears coming. "Don't go…"

But Sorey didn't listen and entered the ruins with determination. Mikleo stood in front of the entrance, still, as if he had been frozen. To tell the truth, he was frozen by fear. What would he do if something bad happened to Sorey? He would never forgive himself because it would have been his fault. He stared at the entrance, wondering what he should do. And then, he took his decision. So he took a deep breath and, with fear, entered the ruins.

The inside was dark and he could barely see what was in front of him. There were noises of bats flying all around and he bit his lips. Time to time, he walked on a rock, hurting his foot, the crack of the rocks making noise. He hoped there weren't monsters and that he would find his friend soon.

"So… Sorey?" He called with a little voice.

But nobody was there. Where was he? Mikleo was scared to find his friend wounded or, worse, dead. Please no. Don't die, Sorey! Tears fell on his cheeks at this thought. If his friend was dead because of him, he would never forgive himself. Gramps told him that because he was a human, Sorey would die long before him. Since he hadn't wanted this to happen, he had promised to protect him. And now, Sorey was nowhere to be found. Because of him, the brunette probably was in danger. No, no, no! I don't want that! I promised to protect him!

So, even though he was scared, he continued to walk, searching for his dear friends. He barely knew how to use his powers but he would do his best to use them if he needed it. Please, give me Sorey back. I don't care if Gramps scold us if Sorey is alive. Sorey was alive. It couldn't be otherwise, right?

While walking, he wondered for how many minutes he had been in here. He felt more and more tired and just wanted to go to bed. Suddenly, as he was going to continue on his way, Mikleo felt something on his shoulder and couldn't help but scream. He only stopped when he heard a voice he knew well:

"It's okay, Mikleo, it's only me."

"Gramps…?"

He felt so relieved that he couldn't help but jump over the seraph, hugging him tightly. Gramps' hand went on his hair, slowly rubbing it.

"I'm so sorry! It's my fault! If I hadn't told Sorey that he had to be protected because he was a human, he wouldn't have come here and… And…" He cried.

His heart beat faster. And what? Sorey was fine, right? If Gramps was there then the little human would be fine.

"Don't worry, we'll find him."

Hearing Gramps' voice was reassuring and Mikleo took his hand. With Gramps, he feared nothing and the monsters, if there were, wouldn't dare approaching them. They continued their way, Mikleo still crying, went down stairs and arrived in a big place where light came from the broken ceiling. And then, the little seraph saw him: sitting on the ground, arms crossed, Sorey looked at a strange statue.

Really happy, Mikleo let Gramps' hand go and ran towards his friend, calling his name and jumping over him.

"Hey, what?" Sorey only said, surprised.

"Sorey, I'm so happy to see you! I thought you were dead. You don't have to be protected so let's go back home!"

The brunette tilted his head but nodded nevertheless and stood up, coming near Gramps who was waiting for them. With the light coming from the broken ceiling, the two children could see Gramps' face but they took it for an angry face more than for a relieved one. Ashamed, they lowered their eyes. Sorey took Gramps' hand and Mikleo caught his friends', too scared of losing him again. And thus, they took the path back to the entrance, then to Gramps' house in Izuchi.

When they finally were inside, Gramps stood in front of them and said:

"How many times did I tell you not to go to the ruins, huh?"

They didn't answer.

"Do you realize that if Kaim hadn't seen you leave the village, you would still be in there?"

"That's my fault." Mikleo started to say.

"No, that's mine!" Sorey continued.

"If I didn't tell you you needed to be protected because you were human, we wouldn't have gone to the ruins."

"If I hadn't been offended, we wouldn't have gone to the ruins."

The two boys looked at each other, crying. In front of them, Gramps smiled and asked:

"And why do you think Sorey needs to be protected, Mikleo?"

The little seraph looked at the elder seraph and confessed:

"You told me human's life were really short. I was afraid of Sorey dying…"

Mikleo lowered his head. Because of him, Sorey could have been hurt by a monster. Or worse. Protecting him? He wasn't able to do so. The brunette was right: he didn't need to be protected. Suddenly, Mikleo felt something warm in his hand and when he looked at it, he saw Sorey's hand. So he raised his head and looked at the smiling face of his friend. It was a beautiful smile, full of love, and it warmed his heart.

"Don't worry, I won't die. I'll always be by your side."

"Promise…?"

"Promise!"

A smile appeared on Mikleo's face. He was really happy to have a friend like Sorey. He intertwined their fingers together, as if to seal their promise.

"Fine. Now that your problem is solved, let's see which punishment I'll give you for disobeying my orders."

The two boys pulled a face: they would always be together, for the best… and for the worst!