Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Zestiria. I write this for your enjoyment only. This fic will be a short collection of both canon-based and complete AU stories, mostly revolving around the friendship/relationship of Sorey and Mikleo. I plan to base some snippets on the game/manga, others on the anime, and maybe throw in a few with a blend of the game, manga, and anime elements. My AUs include genderbent/transgender Mikleo as a tribute to LGBTQ pride month as well as bi-sexual/pansexual themes. If any of this is not to your liking or offends you, I suggest you not read any further. I've also taken a lot of liberties with how things supposedly works in the Zestiria world so please excuse any discrepancies with canon. That said, enjoy and please review!

Through Love's Eyes

The Secret

"Sorey, look out!" Mikleo cried when he saw Heldalf knock his best friend down with a powerful blow to the chest. Although the monstrous hellion had no weapon other than his fists, it was more than enough to knock the wind out of Sorey. By now, it was obvious to everyone in their party that Heldalf was far too powerful for them to fight and that the bastard was taunting them by holding back.

Despite the presence of two skilled warriors such as Alisha and Rose as well as five powerful seraphims, the Lord of Calamity was interested only in Sorey and focused all his attacks on the Shepard while swatting away anyone else who tried to get close to land a hit on him as if they were mere flies.

As Sorey struggled to get up while trying to ignore the agonizing pain in his torso where he was certain that Heldalf must have broken at least a few of his ribs, the powerful hellion drew back his arm and opened his palm, revealing five razor sharp talons as he prepared to attack Sorey again.

Not wanting to take chances on the gamble that Heldalf was going to hold back on Sorey a second time, Mikleo quickly shoved Symonne, whom he had been engaged in close combat with, away with his quarterstaff before using his teleportation magic to suddenly materialize between the monstrous hellion and his friend.

"Mikleo, no!" Sorey screamed when he realized what his seraphim companion was trying to do. But it happened so fast he literally had no time to blink, let alone get up to protect Mikleo before Heldalf made a powerful swipe and gouged the water seraph in the chest to the horror of everyone present, including Sorey. In an attempt to protect his friend, Mikleo had raised his quarterstaff to block Heldalf's attack but the hellion's powerful talons easily cleaved it into pieces as if it were made out of butter before making contact with his tender flesh.

Before everyone knew it, Mikleo collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely from five deep gashes stretching from his upper right chest to his lower left abdomen. Ignoring the pain of his own broken ribs, Sorey quickly made his way to Mikleo and remove his white Shepard's cloak before placing it on the seraph's body and pressed down on the wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Rose, Alisha, and the rest of their seraphim allies had expected Heldalf to continue his attack on Sorey now that he was injured and preoccupied with trying to save Mikleo and quickly moved in with their weapons drawn to defend the two.

But to the surprise of everyone present, the Lord of Calamity actually backed off. And it wasn't due to being intimidated by the Shepard's allies either. The sneer he gave them made that obvious.

"Well, this is a surprise", he began. "As pathetically weak as you all are, you still don't hesitate to protect your comrades. I could easily kill any of you where you stand now. But doing so would not serve my purpose."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Rose demanded.

Ignoring her, Heldalf turned back to Sorey. "I commend your efforts, young Shepard. You may still be of use to me yet so I'll let you live for now. Seek me out again when you've become strong enough to stand a fighting chance. Once you've become mankind's one hope for survival, I shall crush you and the world will know true despair. Come, Symonne! Let us leave these worms to consider my words."

The dark seraph lowered her weapon, which she had been prepared to raise against Alisha and backed off.

"Yes, master. As you command", Symonne replied coolly as she turned her back on the princess knight, unconcerned that Alisha might try to strike her from behind since she knew it was against a knight's code of honor to do so. Alisha herself knew this as well and gritted her teeth in slight frustration before lowering her own weapon.

Once Heldalf and his servant, Symonne, vanished into a dark cloud of mist, everyone quickly surrounded Sorey, who was desperately trying to stop the bleeding from Mikleo's injuries. By now, the beautiful white Shepard's cloak that Alisha had given him as a gift was drenched in blood but that was the least of his concerns now.

"Dammit, its not stopping!" Sorey cursed in panic and frustration before turning to his friends. "We have to do something or at this rate, Mikleo will…!"

Lailah quickly got on her knees and stilled Sorey's hands. "Calm down, Sorey! Mikleo's wounds are deep but not fatal. If we treat him immediately and properly, he will live."

Hoping that she was right, Sorey nodded and moved aside to give Lailah room. Closing her eyes, Lailah placed a hand over Mikleo's body and chanted a healing spell. To the amazement of Sorey, Rose, and Alisha, the five deep gashes on Mikleo's torso stopped bleeding and started to close even though water seraph himself had not yet regained consciousness. However, his breathing became steady again, indicating that he was alive, as Lailah had promised.

The fire seraph lowered her hand and turned to Sorey. "It is done", she said. "Mikleo's life is no longer in any immediate danger but we'll still have to get him out of these bloody clothes and clean him up so that he doesn't get a nasty infection. I suggest we leave here and set up camp someplace where its safe. It doesn't look like we're can go any further until Mikleo recovers."

Sorey nodded. "You'll get no argument from me, Lailah."

"Same goes for us", Zaveid added. "After what just happened, I'm sure we can all use a bit of time to rest and recover."

Edna snorted as she closed her parasol and rested it on her shoulder. "You know, for once, I actually agree with you, Zaveid."

Dezel, who had been listening to the whole conversation in silence, merely grunted but made no objection since he was also in agreement. Though he would never admit it, Dezel was also concerned for Mikleo as well.

"Then its settled", Lailah said as she got up and brushed her knees. "I trust you'll be all right with moving Mikleo, Sorey? If it's too much for you, Zaveid can do it."

Sorey shook his head as he slowly and carefully took Mikleo into his arms and stood up, all while ignoring the pain of his own injuries. "No need. I'll do it myself; he's not all that heavy anyway. Just don't tell him I said that, ok?"

Despite their less-than ideal situation, Rose and Alisha could not help giggling at Sorey's remark.

"You know, if Mikleo was a girl, he would actually be more offended if you suggested he was heavy, not the other way around", Rose teased.

"True", Alisha agreed. "A lady is sensitive about her weight, just as she is her age."

Sorey rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm thankful I don't have to worry about that with Mikleo. Let's just get out of here for now, ok? I'll feel better the sooner we have him taken care of."

"Of course. Whatever you say, Mr. Shepard", the girls replied in unison.

SSSSSS

"Sorey, are you all right?" Lailah asked in concern as she watched him gently set the sleeping Mikleo down on the soft fur blanket spread across the tent floor. It was times like these that Sorey was grateful to have a squire like Rose, who was also a merchant with access to just about anything and everything they would need for their grueling quest to rid the world of malevolence as well as Heldalf. *1*

However, the Lord of Calamity was the last thing on Sorey's mind. At the moment, Mikleo was his first priority. There was no need to be concerned about Haldalf going after them since he himself said he would wait for Sorey and his companions to come to him, something the young Shepard was secretly grateful for.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired" Sorey answered. "Edna healed my ribs if that's what you're concerned about."

"Yes, of course, I can see that. You wouldn't be able to carry Mikleo all the way here otherwise. However, its still obvious that you are spent and need rest. Mikleo wasn't the only one who took a heavy blow from the Lord of Calamity. Please, leave him to me and get some rest. You won't be any good to anyone if you overexert yourself."

Sorey sighed but he knew Lailah was right. The days' events were finally starting to take its toll on him and he had no energy to argue with his prime lord.

"All right, Lailah. I trust you. Please take care of Mikleo."

"Of course. I'll be up a while longer. I can stay up all night if need be. Just get some rest. I'm sure Rose and Alisha are worried about you too."

"I will. Thanks, Lailah. For everything."

"You're welcome, Sorey. Good night."

SSSSSS

After Sorey had left, Lailah quickly got to work and began removing Mikleo's tunic and split cape. From what she could see, the fine satin fabric was torn beyond repair, meaning that the garment would likely have to be discarded. Which was a pity because it was quite elegant to look upon. Even Mikleo's white pants would have to go as well since it would be impossible to get the bloodstains out.

Hoping that Mikleo would understand and forgive her later, Lailah continue to work on removing his torn and bloody clothing. It was after she had managed to open the front of Mikleo's tunic that Lailah discovered something about the young water seraph that had utterly shocked her.

He had the body of a female.

Lailah wasn't one to make judgments. If Mikleo chose to present himself as a male and wished to be perceived as a male, then she would respect and honor his wishes regardless of his reasons. However, Lailah still had questions and many of them raced through her mind at once. But for now, getting Mikleo cleaned up and changed was her first priority.

As if in answer to her thoughts, the seraph in question began to stir and gave a soft groan he slowly opened his eyes.

"Lailah?", he mumbled weakly as his vision slowly started to make out the fire seraph's form leaning over him. The last thing he remembered was coming between Sorey and Heldalf before he felt a terrible searing pain tear across his torso and blacked out.

"Yes, its me", Lailah answered as she gently pushed Mikleo back down on the soft rug when he tried to sit up. "Please don't try to move too much now lest you re-open your wounds. I managed to heal them enough to get you out of immediate danger but you still need proper rest to make a complete recovery."

Mikleo opened his mouth and was about to ask what happened when he finally noticed that his tunic and cape were gone, leaving him practically topless except for the bindings he used to flatten his breasts. Which were also torn in many places, covered in blood, and hung from his body in tatters. With a sharp gasp, Mikleo quickly covered his chest with his arms and glared at his caretaker as he managed to sit up and scoot away.

"You saw, didn't you?" he hissed. *2*

"Mikleo, I didn't' mean any harm", Lailah insisted gently. "Your clothes were completely drenched in blood and filth from the wounds Heldalf gave you as well as that nasty fall. If I left you as you were, you would have suffered a painful infection and died since they're not completely healed."

As upset and distraught as he was over having his most intimate secret exposed, Mikleo knew Lailah was right and did his best to calm down. He also knew it wouldn't be fair to take his frustrations out on her considering that she was the one who saved his life and was now going out of her way to help him recover.

"I see… I'm sorry. And thank you for helping me, Lailah."

Lailah's expression softened as her shock faded and became motherly concern for the younger seraph under her care. She knew she shouldn't ask but her curiosity was too great to resist.

"You're welcome, Mikleo. I hope you'll forgive me for asking, but does Sorey know?"

Mikleo shook his head. "No… I never told him. Or anyone else for that matter. Asides from my late mother, only my guardian and his servants who tended to me when I was a baby, knows."

Lailah raised a brow. "Really? How can that be? Sorey told me you two used to bathe together after your hunting trips in the mountains of Elysium. It would have been impossible for him not to notice."

"Normally, yes, that would be true", Mikleo agreed. "But I used my seraphic arts to conjure an illusion spell to fool Sorey into thinking I had a male body whenever I had to disrobe in front of him."

"But why the deception, Mikleo? Do you hate being female that much?"

Mikleo shook his head again. "It had nothing to do with that", he insisted. "My guardian did not want me and Sorey to become close in that way. He used to tell me it was better for me to live as a male and be nothing more than Sorey's best friend and brother. I had no objection to being raised as a boy because it would have been difficult for me to go hunting, fishing, and exploring ruins with him while dressed as a girl anyway."

Although Lailah did not think that Mikleo would deliberately lie to her about his reasons for living as a male after everything she had done for him, she also sensed that he wasn't telling her the whole truth either.

"But there's more to it than that, isn't there?" she pressed.

"What do you mean?"

"Mikleo, I'm not blind. Its quite obvious to me that your feelings for Sorey goes beyond that of friendship, beyond that of family. I'm also familiar with the laws of our people in regards to relationships with humans. Normally, we are not permitted to interact directly with them. But your guardian made an exception for you and Sorey because he raised you both together. However, he still tried to prevent you from getting too close."

"I assure you, Lailah, you don't have to tell me that. I'm very well aware of the rules. I also thought that if I lived as a male, I wouldn't have these kinds of feelings for him but I was wrong."

"Unfortunately, its not that simple, Mikleo. Even if you were born male, it still wouldn't guarantee your feelings for Sorey would be any different than they are now."

Mikleo nodded as he squeezed his eyes shut and fought back tears. Although Lailah did not mention it directly, they both knew that friendships and love between human and seraphim were highly discouraged, almost taboo and forbidden, because it would always result in tragedy due to the drastic difference in their lifespans. While seraphim had a lifespan of centuries, some even millennia, very few humans ever reached a hundred years of age. Even the rabbit-like normin, who were the shortest-lived among the seraphim, still had a lifespan twice that of humans. *3*

"I know…" he sniffed. "But what else can I do?"

In answer, Lailah gently cupped Mikleo's face in both her hands and looked directly into his violet eyes while gently brushing away the tears that managed to escape from them.

"Mikleo, I will not judge you or tell you how to live your life. I'm more than willing to help you if you want to keep pretending to be a boy. But I implore you to tell Sorey the truth someday, tell him how you really feel. Because if you don't, you could end up losing him."

Although Lailah did not elaborate further, Mikleo knew exactly what she meant. Sorey was a handsome young man and news of his incredible feats as the next Shepard was spreading far and wide across the land. So, it was inevitable that Sorey would catch the attention and fancy of many eligible young women. Including Rose and Alisha, who would subtly vie for his attention when they thought Mikleo wasn't looking.

"I know…" he agreed. "But I'm not ready to yet; I need a little more time."

"Mikleo, you don't need my permission or approval to do or not do anything. I'm only concerned for your sake and Sorey's."

"Speaking of which, how is Sorey?"

"He's fine. Heldalf broke a couple of his ribs but Edna already took care of it. Sorey was concerned for you more than anything. That's why I think you mustn't keep such secrets from him."

"I understand. And I appreciate it. I'm sure I'll know when the time is right to tell him. Until then, will you keep my secret?"

"Of course. You have my word. For now, lets get you out of these filthy clothes. There's a stream nearby where you can bathe and I'll ask Alisha to bring you some spare clothing. I'm sorry to say it, but it doesn't look like your outfit can be saved. If you want, I'll ask Rose to see if she can arrange to have another one like it made for you."

"Whatever we have will do for now. I can wait."

Relieved that Mikleo wasn't going to be difficult because of his secret being exposed, Lailah smiled.

"Good."

Despite his close brush with death as well as having the secret he had painstakingly guarded for years exposed, Mikleo could not help smiling as well. He was indeed fortunate to have a friend as kind and understanding as his caretaker. Mikleo even felt a measure of relief now that he had someone to confide in regarding his true sex.

And it was friendships like these that made the hurdles in his life worthwhile.

Footnotes:

1. This story is based on the anime version of Sorey and company's first encounter with Heldalf.

2. In this fic, Mikleo is a transgender male, biologically female but chooses to live and identify himself as a male so I refer to him as a "he".

3. In the game and manga versions of Tales of Zestiria, it is implied that the seraphim are long-lived even though they are not immortal because they can still die from natural causes or being deliberately killed.