Elusive Lust

By: Angelus Erreare

A/N: This is my third attempt to write a decent fic for DDS. In this, I decided to try and get a bit of humor and not just angst and drama like the previous two fics (Revelation and For the Love of Her)

Warning: SEMI-AU (It will take place in the DDS1 universe with a few twists of my own.) EXTREME OOC (The characters will do and say things you we all know they'd never say or do.) Lastly, LIME (No, no lemons this time)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places mentioned in the game. All characters, places and ideas belong to ATLUS.

Chapter 1: A Ghost

The members of Embryon huddled together in silence as Gale laid out the current situation that they had found themselves.

"We have received word that the Vanguards are preparing an offensive to cut-off one of our supply depots. According to our source, they plan to hit tonight at 0200 hours." He pointed to the projection, "They plan to hit here. The terrain is good and we could use both it and the darkness to mask our presence."

Everyone groaned. They all knew what was coming next. Well, with the exception of Heat, that is.

"It means that we must intercept them and dispose of their task force. We leave tonight at 1200 hours. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah," Heat interjected, "Are there any rules of engagement that we should be notified?"

Gale nodded; his sea-foam green eyes solemn as ever peering into each and everyone's eyes for a moment before settling back on Heat, "Yes, especially for you Heat. The kill must be direct and efficient. That would mean that there is no room for your 'preference'. Kill at sight. That is all."

The group glanced at Heat and chuckled. Heat always managed to get himself berated by Gale at his preference of killing. Heat had a strong predisposition to mutilate corpses or to kill in a very dramatic fashion. Everyone swore that should Heat had been a member of another tribe, Heat would have been branded as a demon and they would all come to fear him.

But, that wasn't the case. He was a member of the Embryon. To them, he was a brother with unquestionable loyalty and a dependable comrade in arms. That was enough for all of them.

Gale touched his forehead with his fingers and shook his head, "I mean it this time Heat. Another of your theatrics will result you in a court-martial by our Leader."

All eyes turned to Serph.

He looked at Heat and nodded.

Heat groaned, "You've got to be kidding."

"No we are not. Are there any other questions?" That was always Gale's style; curt and direct to the point.

Heat raised his hand once more, "Who gets to go in this picnic?"

Gale nodded, "The task force will include of only one squad. It will consist of you, Cielo, myself and three others."

"Whoah there Gale!" Argilla protested, "What about me and Serph? You guys need us there."

Gale shook his head, "No. It is possible that this is a trap. They may have discovered our spy and made him leak false information. It is possible that they are trying to draw our leader in the open for a quick assassination. And since the task force will be small so as to maneuver for effectively, the addition of two more members would nullify efficiency. Furthermore, should this be a trap, then, they would anticipate a small task force to intercept them to which they themselves would have a matching small force and then finish us easily when their backup arrives."

Argilla frowned, disappointed but she knew that Gale was right.

"We need you here. You are only second to me Argilla. You are the only one capable of taking my place."

"Ey! Are you trying to say something about our intelligence brudda?" Cielo asked, pointing his finger at Gale with a feigned look of anger.

Gale turned to his direction, "I am only stating the facts here. And that is, Argilla has both the rank and the capability to hold her own while we're out."

"Den, why not send someone else ja?" Cielo complained, sitting himself on the chair and crossing his arms defiantly.

"No way! And let someone else have all the fun?" Heat sneered, "Besides, they'll just screw this up for us."

Gale nodded in concurrence, "Heat is right. We are the ones best suited for this job."

Gale, having met no more objections, turned to Serph, "Shall we proceed with the plan Serph?"

Serph looked at Gale intently and nodded.

Gale nodded in return and glanced at the group, "Prepare to depart at 1200 hours. You are all dismissed."

xxxxx

The offensive had begun and the group had left. Argilla and Serph watched their back as they went.

Cielo, with a Cheshire-cat's grin, turned and faced the two, "And don't you two be naughty while we're out ja?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at Serph and winked suggestively at Argilla. Argilla frowned, blushing and reached for the nearest object in her hand; a coffee mug, and threw it in his direction.

"Ah! Are you tryin to kill me mon? Dat won't be good for de mission ja?"

"Then get your ass moving!" Argilla shouted, her face still a beet red.

"I'm goin! I'm goin."

And then, Cielo was gone.

Argilla didn't know how it happened, but Cielo's comments made her feel suddenly awkward with Serph. So, with an embarrassed face, she turned to look at him only to discover that his eyes were fixed on hers, with a look of curiosity in them.

"Well, ugh, see you Serph. I'll be doing the rounds tonight."

With no response from him, she took her leave.

xxxxx

Serph walked through the hallways on their barracks. Cielo's words seemed to have a strange effect on his system. He couldn't figure it out but since then, all he could think about was his teammate.

Argilla.

He didn't notice it before. He didn't notice how unique her hair color was. He didn't notice how full her lips were, how her eyes burned with intensity and fire, how her creamy legs displayed themselves from her skirt. He couldn't put the right word for it but he tried.

'She looks…tempting.'

Serph blinked, where did that come from? Tempting? To do what?

He didn't know.

But a voice in his head suddenly spoke, "She's tempting to claim."

'Claim? As what?' he asked himself in confusion. What did all these thoughts and feelings mean?

'Tempting to…'

Serph closed his eyes and shook his head, 'This is going nowhere. I better get back to work.'

He walked through their empty barrack. Since his team was gone, the place was empty. Except for him and Argilla that is. He continued to walk along its halls trying to dispel images of her in his head when he heard a noise.

Serph immediately went for his gun and looked around, strafing the walls, he looked left and right but found no one. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk again, dismissing it as a figment of his imagination.

Then he heard it again.

He tried to intently listen this time. It wasn't a noise; it was a moan; a low and drawling moan. The moan was faint and distant. In fact, it was almost impossible to hear under normal circumstances, but since the barrack was empty, all noises faint or pronounced were heightened. Serph knitted his eyebrows as he scanned the area looking for the possible sources of this 'moan'.

He followed his ears and they led him to the door of the storeroom. He slowly went for his gun once more and slowly opened the door, checking all danger areas before proceeding.

He looked around and saw that no one was in the room. He growled in frustration; he knew what he heard! That sound was coming from there!

Then, he heard the moan once again, only louder. Serph whipped his head around thinking that the person or whatever it was making these moans were behind him.

There was no one there.

The moans continued and Serph listened more intently. The moan sounded as if an animal was making them. It didn't sound human; it sounded distorted.

He looked around again to discover its source. He looked up and there was his answer.

The moans were coming from the air ducts. It wasn't coming from here at all.

Serph, now determined to find the source of this, climbed up into the ducts. He thanked his lucky stars that he didn't weigh as much as Heat or Gale, otherwise, the duct wouldn't be able to support his weight.

He continued to crawl through it when he heard the moan once more. This time, the moans were different from the ones he heard from the halls and the storeroom. The moans were more pronounced and less distorted.

Now, he deemed, they sounded human.

He crawled further in and then heard the moans again.

He could hear it properly now, it was a pleasurable moan. The moan was low, deep-breathed and sensual. Serph felt a tingle in his system as he heard the moan. But what made him do so was the fact that the moan seemed to be…female.

He crawled further in, now determined more than ever to discover the truth behind this conspiracy.

And then, suddenly, the moaning stopped. Serph raised an eyebrow, 'Where did it go?'

It was then that strange thoughts appeared in his head. Was it all his imagination? Or, if it was all real, did whatever was making those noises become aware of his presence?

He waited a while longer. He didn't know how long he stayed in the air duct but when a bead of sweat landed on the duct from his chin, he knew that he stayed longer than practical.

He cursed himself for being such an idiot. Imagining moans and following it through the air ducts. Yep. The Embryon members would surely respect him more than ever. He could just see their faces; filled with amusement, disbelief and shock.

He could just picture Gale's look of disappointment and displeasure, Heat's shocked expression; he could practically hear Cielo's laughter ringing in his ear! He could picture Argilla with her eyes wide, her jaw agape and a horrid expression on her face.

He didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt embarrassed. Opinions of others never really weighed heavily on Serph's mind, but for some reason, the scenario of him being caught red-handed in an air duct in a silly position felt as if it would be his biggest blunder in his leadership career.

He didn't really care much about Heat, Gale or Cielo's opinions, but for an elusive reason, Argilla's opinion seemed to matter to him.

He frowned; he couldn't get that look out of his mind.

'She'd probably be very disappointed in me…She'd probably lose respect for me…Damn it.'

He couldn't take it anymore. What the hell was he still doing in there?!

With a growl, Serph pried the opening in the duct and jumped down on the floor noiselessly. He dusted his suit of the dust and continued walking along the corridors. Wait a minute! The ducts led in the hallway.

Well, whatever.

He started walking again when he heard it again! This time, it was definitely louder and more pronounced. He looked around and he found himself near the lavatories. Could the sounds coming from there?

He walked carefully, listening through the walls until stopped in front of a door. Without looking at the sign outside the door, he gently turned the knob and opened it. Serph walked in the room and his eyes blinked; it was foggy in the room. With the agility and grace of a cat, he made his way further into the room. The moans were louder now and were accompanied by a deep sigh. Serph could feel his blood surging through his veins that his face was beginning to show the signs of a tinge of crimson.

He stopped when the moans did and he looked at what lay at his feet.

He blinked once, twice and blinked again. Before him was a scene that he could have only seen in his dreams or imagination. There, on the tub, lay his teammate Argilla.

Serph's heart raced, blood gushing rapidly to his head and face, his eyes widened with a mixture of shock, disbelief and something else…Desire.

Serph stood there, unmoving and frozen. She lay there herself, unmoving and unspeaking.

Argilla's eyes were closed and Serph could tell by her breathing that she had probably dozed off. Serph flushed deep red when he regarded her form before him. There she lay on the tub with her arms dangling from its edges; the bubbles provided the appropriate shielding of her modest parts.

Serph's eyes wandered to her neck and collarbone. This was the first time that he actually got a good look at her body. Her collarbone was exposed and protruded from her skin. Her skin was creamy and it glistened with moisture that Serph longed to touch.

Without thinking, Serph's hands slowly moved towards the unsuspecting female but stopped midway as she gave another moan and put her right leg to dangle at the edge of the tub; a few centimeters from Serph's leg.

Serph felt a lump in his throat form as he assessed the proximity of their limbs. He closed his eyes shut and cursed inwardly, 'Stupid! If I touched her, she'd see me! If I moved any further, she'd feel me.'

'God, what am I doing here?'

At the sound of her moan, Serph felt a jolt travel through his body and into his nether regions. He felt himself feel aroused at her moans and the view of her naked body in front of him, so tempting, filled his head with images of only her. He could see her writhing beneath him, moaning his name, screaming his name.

'Damn! I've got to get out of here…'

He backed away slowly and accidentally hit the soap on the basin, sending it tumbling on the floor.

Argilla's eyes immediately opened and she gasped in horror as her eyes met his. She screamed. Serph looked at his teammate and panicked; what was he supposed to do now?

Argilla, in an attempt to rise from the tub slipped, losing her grip and sending her to the bottom of the tub. Serph immediately rushed in and thrust his hands in the water and grabbed onto her naked waist.

She struggled in his arms but he paid her no heed and hauled her out of the tub and onto her feet.

"Let go!" he heard her scream at him but his hands remained where they were. Serph sucked in her scent; she bathed in lavender oils. His nose tingled in the pleasurable scent. Suddenly, his sight became hazy and his head became foggy with desire.

His imagination was cut short as someone rushed in to their scene, "What's going on?! I heard screaming!"

Both heads turned towards the door to see a horrified face of Heat.

"Aaaggghh!!!" Argilla screamed, "Heat GET OUT!!!!!!" Instinctively, Argilla pressed herself closer to Serph in an attempt to hide from Heat what little flesh she hadn't already exposed.

Serph felt another jolt enter his nether regions as Argilla pressed herself against him. This, their position and her nudity wasn't helping him at all.

Heat's eyes went from Argilla to Serph.

'Serph and Argilla…? Whoah…this is heavy…'

Heat opened his mouth to say something but just ended up pointing his finger towards the hallway, "I-I…I'll just be…ugh…really sorry…"

He then quickly grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door closed.

She stopped screaming and realized that she was still in his arms. She looked into his eyes angrily, "Let go…"

Serph nodded and released his grip on her only to hear her protest, "No!! Don't let go!!"

Serph gave her a confused look and she continued, "Close your eyes first…!"

He nodded once more and closed his eyes then releasing his grip on her. Argilla, satisfied at what she saw, stepped back from him and continued to step back towards her towel.

She kept both eyes on him, "Serph, if you dare even think of opening those eyes of yours, I swear I'll gouge them out!" she threatened.

Serph gulped and nodded.

Argilla reached for her towel and quickly wrapped herself in it. She took a quick glance at Serph and saw a deep blush adorning his cheeks. Something in her softened; he was just too cute!

'But a pervert!'

She walked towards the door and turned the knob.

"You can look now."

Serph opened his eyes, expecting to see her in front of him clad in a towel, but found no one. He looked around and saw the door opened. She had already left.

'She probably hates me…' he thought regretfully.

xxxxx

"Argh!! I can't believe I let him do that!! And Heat saw it too…"

Argilla moaned in frustration, "Now what'll they say about me…? This is just too embarrassing. Damn it!"

Argilla wanted to trash her room right now.

What would she say to Heat? What would she say to Serph? Heck, how could she even look at him? She groaned; now she had really done it.

"Okay, okay." she told herself, "Just calm down."

When her breathing became steady, she sat herself on her bed, "This is so weird. But…what was he doing there anyway? It's not like Serph to be a Peeping Tom." she sneered.

"But anyway…what's done is done…Ugh…Tomorrow is going to be hell."

xxxxx

Serph walked back to his room absentmindedly. He entered his room and sat on the bed, replaying the events in his head.

'Damn…she'll hate me now…I shouldn't have…What was I thinking?'

But then, the images of her suddenly came rushing back to his head. He shut his eyes, 'What is she doing to me?'

Serph felt lost and confused; to say the least. Before this, he had never felt these feelings before. He always commanded responsibility and now, all the years of toiling, his discipline crumbled. They all crumbled at the sight of her.

It was confusing and troubling. Serph had always been aware of the battlefield. He was aware of the rules of engagements and even should he encounter uncertainty in battle and war, he always found his way; because he knew the rules of the game.

But the game he had foolishly entered tonight was completely different from the ones he knew. This game that he was playing with her was difficult and dangerous. It was dangerous because he didn't know its rules and proceedings. He doesn't know what the outcome of such a game should be.

His sight began to spin and his head began to hurt.

This was all new to him. But for some reason, he felt good. The feelings she awoke in him were pleasurable. The way her skin felt against his…the way her eyes peered in his; all these made him realize one thing-he wanted her.

He shook his head once more. These feelings may be pleasurable but they could be dangerous should they be used against him. This was a game; a battle.

He hadn't lost a battle yet; he would figure out this game and he was going to win. And what better way to find out about it than to find out through her?

She was the key. She made him feel this way and she was going to teach him this game.

xxxxx