Yuri Hyuga and Alice Elliot began their journey in the Playstation game "Shadow Hearts".  Yuri was a young man whose parents had both been killed some years ago, and he was left to fend for himself and live with the guilt that he could do nothing to stop their deaths.  His father had been killed at war and his mother was murdered by soldiers that attacked their home.  Yuri was a harmonixer, which meant that he had the ability to fuse into monsters that he had killed and use their abilities, just as his father had.  A strange voice led Yuri to a train one night where he was to rescue a young woman named Alice Elliot.  Alice was the daughter of a priest who had recently been killed, and she was abducted from the train by the sorcerer Albert Simon, who wanted to use her strange powers for his own benefit.  Yuri protected her and together they set out on a journey to stop Albert Simon and find out who the mysterious voice was that only they could hear.


        Throughout the game they both became very close and began to develop feelings for one another.  Alice helped Yuri overcome the fears he had of his fusion abilities, and work through the guilt of his parents' deaths, while Yuri protected Alice from anyone who would do her harm.  When Alice learned that Yuri would die from the burden of his malice, she took it upon herself so that he could live.  In the 'bad' ending, Alice died in her sleep on the train to Zurich, while in the 'good' ending she went on to have a future with Yuri.


        "Shadow Hearts: Covenant", the sequel, followed the ending where Alice did not survive.  It was said in the game that Yuri buried Alice in Zurich in his coat with tears streaming down his face.  He was absolutely devastated at losing her and one year later, he still felt exactly the same way about her.  He decided to protect a village known as Domremy, but when a group of soldiers came through it, he was cursed by a power known as the Holy Mistletoe.  Yuri was told that the curse was not to die, but to lose his soul completely, and along with it, his memories and self.  He would be nothing but an empty shell of his former self.  Yuri realized that there was no way around the curse and decided to protect the world from the likes of the evil that would harm it with the time he had left.


        Along the journey, a young woman named Karin developed feelings for him but Yuri remained firm in his love for Alice.  He even attempted to bring her back to life with the help of his magician friend Roger Bacon, even though the ritual could result in the loss of either himself or Roger.  When the crystal shattered during the ritual, Alice was lost again, but not before she told Yuri that she loved him.  He met her again in the graveyard in his subconscious, where he told her that he loved her and that he would return soon to be with her forever.  In the end of the game, Yuri decided to stay behind after his friends left, because he wanted to die rather than have the curse take everything from him.  He was killed as the world fell apart around him, and he returned to the graveyard to be with Alice where they could remain together forever.

        Since the 'good' ending (which I consider the real ending), was kind of open for interpretation, there are basically two things that I think could have happened.  The good thing is that Yuri and Alice are together in both of them.  Either Alice and Yuri are both dead and living together in the afterlife, or they were both reborn and starting their lives again at the train scene in the beginning of the first game.  I'd rather the second be the true scenario, because Yuri remarked to Alice that if he had one wish it would be to start over when they first met so they could have their adventure again.  So it seems to me that Yuri got his wish.  The only thing in question then is if Yuri has retained his memories from the second game, which (if he has) could help him save Alice from Atman.  Regardless, they both admitted their love for each other and end up together in one way or another.

After Yuri and Roger Bacon had unsuccessfully brought Alice's soul back into the world of the living, he was very distraught.  However, the two did have a brief chance to say that they loved each other before she drifted away.

Alice [before she disappears]:  "Yuri, I love you."

Yuri [voice trembling, tears streaming down his face]:  "I love you too."

~~~

Yuri had a chance to speak to Alice in the metaphysical graveyard, and they had a sweet exchange where they told each other how they felt.

Yuri: "If there really is a God, and if he'd grant me just one wish...  I-I'd go back to the day we met."

~~~

Before Yuri left the train to head back to fight Kato, he had this exchange with Alice.

Alice: "Are you leaving?"

Yuri: "Yeah.  I've got one more thing that I have to do...  Once I take care of that, everything will be out of the way and I'll come back to you.  Then I'll never leave again.  I swear it."

~~~

Another quote that I thought was meaningful was the inscription that Yuri wrote on Alice's gravestone.

"Be at peace, Alice Elliot!  This I swear.  Your soul will have my lifelong love... Yours, Yuri."