Arc The Lad Fan Fiction / Arc The Lad Fan Fiction ❯ Childhood Love ❯ Childhood Love ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Don't own Arc The Lad, only my made up character, Marie.

People that are in the story and there techniques:

Elc: 23, Summoner of Fire
Fire Storm
Fire Shield
Charge
Explosion
~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Shu:32, Ninja
Wind shield
Time bomb
Random Attack
Windslash
~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Shante:27, Dancer
Cure
Silent
Ice Shield
Refresh
Divide
Diamond Dust
~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Saria: 21, Fortune Teller
Shuffle Shot
X-Cryte
Random Dice
Dark Shield
Dark Destructor
Rob Mind
~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Tosh:34, Samurai
Jubakuzen
Shinkuzen
Koei-Zen
Ouka-Raibaku-Zen
~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Marie:23, Dancer, Summoner of Fire, Samurai
Dance of Fire
Fire Shield
Cure
Burn Ground
Explosion
Refresh
Fire Blades
Ouka-Raibeku-Zen
Shinkuzen
~:~:~:~:~:~:~

A.N. Hey peoples, this is about Elc haveing a flashback from his childhood, before he was taken away from his village, and remembered his best friend (which is a girl.) named Marie who had disappeared at the attack of there village, and hasn't seen her for 13 years. Now, after talking with Tosh, he says that he has a student that he trained for 2 years is at his village protecting it while he was away. Will she remember Elc? Will love blossom once again? Surprising secrets, new romances, and a little bit of heartbreak, also some fighting action! ENJOY!! ^_^;

Childhood Love

"Good bye Elc, I'm glad that we are still friends," said Lieza as she placed a kiss on his cheek and started to walk away with Paundit. "Yeah," Elc placed a hand on his cheek where she had kissed. "Me too..." As she disappeared to her new home, a figure walked up to him. "You had to let her go..."

"Yes I know, if she stayed with me, I'll be putting her into more danger, like I did long ago."

"You did the right thing, we'll be waiting for you when you are ready to go." said the man as he placed a hand on Elc's shoulder and left to meet the others. Elc gave him a half a smile. "Thanks Shu..."

Elc sat down on the grassy hill cross legged as he thought about his home that had been destroyed and his best friend that he had long ago, before he was taken.


Elc watched the little kids play a game while he sat on the side watching them. Then a little girl about his age walked up to him shyly. "Hello..." she said to him as she sat down next to him. "Hi." he said as he made a fireball appear in his hands as he started to toss it in the air as she watched.

"Why aren't you playing with the others?"

"I don't get along with them."

"How come?" she asked.

"It's complicated..."

"Oh, okay. I understand."

"Why are 'YOU' not playing with them?"

"I'm too shy to make friends, you're the first one that I ever talked to." Elc looked at her as he held the fireball in his hand. "You don't have any friends?"

"No... I don't have any friends. I told you the reason." Both of them stayed quiet as they watched the other kids play. Elc turned to the girl who was watching them play as she turned to him and smiled with a slight blush. "Hey, you want to see something pretty?" she asked. "Sure, I guess." said Elc as the fire ball disappeared from his hand as he stood up following the girl.

After going through some bushes, they came to a lake that was sparkling against the sun. There was a bolder that fitted two people. "Wow, it is pretty." said Elc in awe. "Yeah, I come here all the time by myself to think and practice my fire dances and techniques."

"Fire dances?"

"Oh yes, nobody knows about it, cause I do it at night time when I can't sleep. Do you wanna see?" she asked as he nodded with a small smile. "Great! Sit on that bolder there and I'll show you!" she said as hewent over to the bolder and sat on it and watched her.

She stood a few feet away from him and bowed as she brought flames from her hands and started to dance with her eyes closed. Elc watched in awe as she dance and twirled in perfect rythem as she started to hum a song that he didn't know.

He put his hands on his face and elbows on his knees as he watched her dance beautifully. When he saw her finish, he couldn't help but smile at her. She came up to him with the same smile as she sat down beside him. "That was beautiful, who taught you?" The girl giggled at him and spoke. "Nobody taught me, I taught myself these dances."

"Really? Wow, when you grow up, I bet you'll become famous in the village." The little girl blushed and smiled at him. "Yeah, maybe." They were both silent for a while, staring at the beautiful view. Then Elc spoke up first. "What's your name?" he asked. The girl turned to him with a warm smile. "My name is Marie, what's yours?" Elc returned the warm smile. "My name is Elc!"

They both became silent once again and stared at the beautiful lake. After a few minutes of silence, Elc was startled when he felt her head on his shoulder. He turned to her with his head slowly and saw that she was tired and comfortable. Then she spoke as he placed his hand on her shoulder to bring her a little closer. "Elc?"

"Yeah?" he asked placing his head on hers. "Will you be my best friend, forever?" Elc smiled as he closed his eyes. "If only you be mine." Marie sighed happily as she hugged him tightly. "I'm glad that you're my friend, Elc." said Marie slowly going to sleep on his shoulder. Elc hugged her back and smiled with his eyes closed. "Me too, Marie, me too." said Elc as he too fell asleep.


Elc opened his eyes as a few tears went down his face. He then stood up whipping them away from the back of his hand as he looked up at the sky with glazed eyes as the sun was going down behind the mountains as the moon and stars came out to play in the sky. Then he made himself a promise.

'Marie, I will find you again someday. I know you are alive, I can feel it in my heart that you are. When I do find you, I promise I'll never leave you behind again, please wait for me.' he thought as he started to walk back to the others.

The Hien had been rebuilt by his friend long ago, he called it the Hien 2. It was the same as the first one, but this time it was bigger. It had three bedrooms, a small kitchen and dining room, also it had a stratagy room, and a room that was quiet and relaxing. When he arrived, he asked anyone where they want to go. They all sighed and said 'home' at the same time. There was Shu, Shante, Gruga, and Sania also Tosh who decided to come along for a little adventure. He left his city to his top student to protect it. It's only been a week and a half, so he asked Elc to take him home last.

Elc agreed.

First he took Gruga home to be with his 'daughter', then took Shante home so she could take care of her bar. Shu went with her to look for any jobs that are available at the Gil and will see him later at his apartment. After that Sania asked Elc if he could take her to Iga's Temple so they could talk about rebuilding Milimana again. After Elc dropped her off, he couldn't helf but think about his childhood friend, wondering if she's still alive or not.

Tosh came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder which startled him as he looked up. "What is troubling you, my friend?"

"I had a flashback on my childhood friend before I was taken away. I just can't help but wonder, is she still alive?"

Tosh put his arm back into his hoari and held his sword with his other hand and spoke. "This friend of yours, it is a girl, is it not?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" asked Elc as he turned back to the window. "I know some one who has the same problem as you do."

"You do!? Who!?"

"Her name is Mar, she came to the village seeking training. She came to me asking if I could teach her how to use a sword; I declined at first, but she offered me to battle he. If she wins , I'll teach her my techniques, if I win she'll leave quietly and wont bother no one."

"Let me guess, she beat you?"

Tosh sighed and sat down cross legge as he held his sword.

"Sad to say, yes, she did. I never seen such techniques, it was done so... beautifully."

"How so?"

"It was like she was doing a dance with fire."

"So did the girl in my childhood!"

"This girl, what is her name?"

"Her name is Marie."

"Hmm, Mar short for Marie..." Tosh looked up at Elc who had a happy yet sad expression on his face, then Tosh smiled. "You want to come with me and meet her?" Elc looked up surprised at his sudden question, then smiled. "Sure, why not?" After Elc landed the Hien 2 at the airport, they walked toward Tosh's city. When they arrived at the city, it looked pretty much normal, just as he left it before.

Little kids greeted him happily glad that he was back and as the adults. He walked up to his small home and opened to the doors. His men greeted him politely. "Master Tosh, it's good to see you again sir. How was your trip?" One of the guards asked. "Heavenly, I see that Mar took care of the place well and guarded?"

"Oh yes sir! She is a great leader like yourself sir. She just stepped out a while ago, she should be back in a little while, she went to go heal a child that had fallen ill."

"I see, when she comes in, tell her to come and see me, I would like to talk to her."

"Yes sir!" said the guard as he opened the paper door to his room which still looked clean as he left it. then turned to Elc. "If you wish to say here in the city, fill free to go to the Inn to rest up for a while. Don't worry about the pay, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks Tosh." said Elc as he left the small home to the Inn. About ten minutes past as the girl known as Mar came inside the small home and greeted the guards before her with a smile as the guard smiled back and opened the paper door and let her in and closed it. Mar sighed tiredly as she held her katana in her left hand. Then suddenly brought it out blocking another sword with her right. Then her eyes opened with shock and smiled at the man before her. "Still confident as always..." said Tosh as he sheathed his katana.

Couple seconds later she dropped everything she had in her hands and hugged him tightly making him fall on the floor. "Oh Tosh! I'm so happy to see you again!" said Mar as she sat up sitting on his flat stomach and hands on his chest as he held onto her waist witha soft smile. "I'm glad to see you too, Mar. You look tired Mar, have you been getting enough sleep lately?"

'Sigh' "Only a couple hours a day, this city isn't easy to take care of itself you know. Everywhere you look theirs troublem there were bandits, theives, troublemakers, gangs and most of all a lot of sick people to heal. The a gang had to be stupid enough to try to steal the water sphere, of course I beat the shi-" Mar was silenced by a kiss from Tosh, which she happily returned. When they pulled away she had a smile on her face as Tosh spoke. "You know, you talk too much for a twenty three year old."

"Sorry, it's my nature! So, how was your trip without me?" she asked as she placed her hands on her face and her elbows on his chest as she stared at him while he was holding her waist. "Quite relaxing, but I met a friend that is looking for his childhood friend from long ago." Mar's eyes went wide with hope and determination as she stared at him.

"What does he look like!?"

"Hmm, let's see, he has black hair, a big red headband on his forehead, brown eyes, and earring in his left ear, and has similiar fire attacks as you..."

"Is he here!?" she asked hopefully . Tosh laughed quietly to himself. "Yes, he is waiting in the Inn for you." Mar got off of him quickly and ran out of the small home towards the Inn. Mar ran inside the Inn startling the Innkeeper as she ran up to him panting. "He, hello m'lady, what can I do for you, this evening?"

"Is there a man named Elc here!?"

"Y, Yes, the second door to your right!"

Mar ran up to the door and pounded on it. She heard some shuffling in the room, as it unlocked it's door and started to open it. When it was fully open, tears went down her face with a smile. "Marie!?" he asked hopefully. She then nodded and launched herself on him while crying. "Oh Elc! You're alive! I can't believe it, you're alive!! I missed you so much! I thought you were dead all these years, but I wouldn't believe it! I knew it in my heart that I'll find you again! This is such a dream come true!!" she cried as he held her tightly as they both cried and held each other.

"What happened to you? When those men came into the village and took the God of Fire and then you, where did you go?" asked Marie as her face was against his chest. Elc's eyes went into slits at the memory as he hugged her tighter. "I was taken away to a facility that changed gifted people into monsters," Marie gasped as she hugged him tighter also. "Luckily I escaped with a friend who didn't make it.... She died almost two years ago..." More tears went down her face as she hugged him tightly the before. "Oh Elc, I'm so sorry. You've been through so much more than me."

Elc moved away to look at her in the eyes and brought his hands up to her face and held them in place. "What happened to you when the men came?" Marie looked ashamed as she tried to look down, but his hands kept it from doing so. She placed her hands on his wrists and looked to the side as she cried. "I went to go look for you, since you didn't shot up to the lake. When I got there, these men in strange suits with guns were everywhere in the village shooting at the villagers who got in there way. Then I saw you run in front of your family also in front of the Fire God. When I turned my head I saw my parents dead on the ground. I cried and cried until I could take it anymore so I ran. Back into the forest so I wont get caught or shot.

"I was scared, so I hid in a tree that had a hole on the bottom that could hold one child inside for safety. I heard gunshots as I covered my ears. When it stopped I cried myself to sleep. I woke up the next morning to go back to the village; it was destroyed. All the homes were burnt down, dead bodies were everywhere, my parents were a couple of feet away from me. As tears went down my eyes, I buried all the villagers that were killed, especially... your parents Elc." Tears went down her eyes then looked up at him in the eyes. "After I finished , I sat at our favorite spot by the lake with my legs up to my chest cold and lonely, I was scared to go to sleep, afraid that the men might come back.

"Three days went by as I still stood awake staring at the lake, sad that my friend never returned to me for our visit to the site, then I started to feel feverish, coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose, you name it. When I turned to the right, I saw a man with a sword that appeared in the entry way of the forest, he wore armor that had a strange symbol on it. He came closer to me with a sad expression on his face; he asked me if that was my village that got destroyed. I nodded but didn't speak. I was so tired as I kept nodding my head trying not to go to sleep, but my body and mind took over me and shut down as I went into a dream where my nightmares came back into my mind to play. Before I went unconscious I felt the man catch me and feel my head and said it was very warm and neede medical attention. He picked me up after wrapping me into a blanket and carried me somewhere.

"When I woke up I was in a bed, very warm. I looked around and could tell I was ina small home. Then the door opened to reveal a boy with dirty dish blonde hair who looked like a couple years older than me. He asked me if I was feeling okay. I nooded at him as he came closer to me. I asked him what is name was, he said his name was... Arc I believe, the I asked...."

"Wait! Arc!? You knew Arc!?"

"Yes I did, do you know him?"

"Of course I knew him, he was the worlds most wanted a long time ago, he was my worst enemy."

"What!? Why!? What did he do to you!?"

"Hey calm down," Elc said defensively as he waved his hands in front of him. "I thought he was the one who destroyed our village because his airship looked the same as the one who destroyed our village."

"How could you think something like that!? Arc would never do such a thing!"

"I know, I was stupid back then. I knew who did it, I believe Tosh already told you that, right?"

"Yes he did, but he never really told me anything about you all these years, while traveling with Arc."

"Hmm, I wonder why, just how long were you with Tosh?"

"I will tell you if you take your hands of my face..." smiled Marie as he blushed a little. "Sorry..." he said as he took his hands off her face. "I've been with him about two years. I spent a year with Arc's family, he taught me his Burn Ground technique. After that I learned Cure. Remember my dancing that I do with fire?" He nodded. "I learned a new move called Dances of Fire, then Blades of Fire. I learned Explosion also, then Fire Shield. Of course I learned some of Tosh's moves like Ouka-Raibuku-Zen, and Shinkuzen."

"Sounds like you learned a lot from the years while I was away. So you've been living here ever since?"

"Yes, we've been...."

Marie was interupted as Tosh showed himself from the door. "Oh! Hello Tosh, what's wrong?" Mar asked. "No, nothing is wrong, my dear. Just wondering when you are going to bed. You need some sleep, you look tired."

"No need to worry Tosh, I'll be fine. Now that you mention it, I haven't been sleeping really well for tha past week since you left me all alone in that place full of men!" Tosh sweat dropped. "Okay, I guess I'll go back home and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Elc," said Mar as she kissed his cheek and walked toward the door. "I'm glad that you're here, Elc, it's great to finally see you again after all these years." After that Marie left out the door to the small home. Tosh had a frown on his face as he watched her go.

"Tosh, is something wrong?" Elc asked. "No, it's nothing, we had a long journey, you should get some rest. Good night, Elc." said Tosh as he closed the door. Elc had a frown on his face as he stared at the closed door. 'I wonder what's wrong with him?' thought Elc as he locked the door and went to bed.

Tosh entered his small home as he saw Mar changing into her Yukata, she turned to him and smiled. She saw his frown and walked up to him and hugged him. "Tosh, what's the matter? And don't tell me it's nothing cause I know that look when something is wrong, now what is it?" Tosh sighed and placed his hands around her waist and spoke. "I can never hide anything from you can I?" She smiled and shook her head. "It's about Elc, you two seemed to be hitting it off quite well and...."

"And you think I'm falling in love with him? Tosh, that was a long time ago, but that was only a crush. You're the one I love right now and nothing is going to change that until the day we die. I've known you for two years, and have been in love with you for one and a half, now, do you love me?"

"You know I do, and I always will." said Tosh as he put his hand on her face and started kissing her while her Yukata fell to the floor. The next morning Mar woke up by a kiss on the forehead. She opened her eyes tiredly and smiled as she started to get up, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get up, it's not quite morning yet, go back to sleep, koi."

"Why are you up for?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be back before you wake up, now go to sleep." She smiled and closed her eyes as Tosh covered her with the obi and walked out of his small home into his Japanese garden and then sat down cross legged and started to think.

'It's been a year and a half since I've been with her, do I think it's too soon for her? To be with me forever?'

Tosh sat there till dawn in deep thought and didn't notice Mar standing behind him. He was startled when she hugged him from behind. "You were up all night, what's on your mind?" she asked as he leaned against her and sighed. "A lot of things, koi..." he said tiredly as he closed his eyes. "You sound tired, why don't you go back to bed and sleep for a while?" When she recieved no answer, she opened her eyes and looked down at him. "Tosh?" She smiled when she heard his calm breathing and light snores. She sat next to a sakura tree and leaned against it as she placed his head on her lap as she petted his hair with her eyes closed with a smile as she started to hum a light soothing tune.

About an hour or two later, a guard opened the paper door as Mar stopped humming as she opened her eyes and looked at the guard with a smile as she put her finger to her lips mentioning him to be quiet. "What is it, Joe?" she asked softly in a whisper. "Sorry to disturb you, Lady Mar, but there is a man here to see you, his name is Elc."

"Tell him to come back in an hour, she is busy at the moment." said Tosh with his eyes still closed. The guard bowed and left as he closed the paper door. "Why did you do that?" she asked. A smirk appeared on his face. "Because, I want to spend my morning with my koi, if you don't mind." Mar smiled as she bent down and kissed him in a upside down way as he kissed her back.