By Stormytitan
A/N: Part two continues right after part one (obviously) MUST READ THE FIRST PART! Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking in separating these into two parts, but here you go.
Also, Sano=Logos, Uno=Ormi.
New and Improved! Edited: 3-11-2013
It wouldn't have taken an idiot very long at all to decide that this new life was far from a delightful or even gratifying alternative from his previous existence in the orphanage. And Sano was no idiot. He was quick enough in his assumption that this mess he had foolishly gotten himself into was going to suck...very much.
Although he was fed properly, he still had many complaints about how 'good' his life was. Was he still abused? Technically no, but if one considered forcing thirteen year olds to run through muddy grounds, hauling a heavy training arm, all the while verbally insulting them in everything from their appearance to their great ancestors, then yes he was a still a very abused child. But that hardly mattered much to him, except for the accompanying pains.
The tight ever-constant pull of hunger slowly diminished, sadly to only be replaced with sore muscles all over his body, aches in places he never in his life thought could hurt, and newly acquired blisters on his feet. His hands grew tougher and more rough, and the squishy useless thing that was his bicep became harder to pinch.
In fleeting moments, he could've been pleased with the results despite the pains he endured to obtain them, however, he found himself surrounded by increasingly more annoying people that banished any thoughts whatsoever of being 'pleased.'
He hated it here. He endured daily interactions with his new-found 'bunk-mates' and the Captains put in charge of overseeing he and the boys' training (that being Captain Hoto himself and Captain Nanbu and all the other men under their command) and it was becoming more than Sano could stand. Indeed, his first impressions of them spoke miles of how much worth he found in each of them.
Uno being the most obvious headache because he was right beside him in most exercises (his fat cumbersome ass only able to keep up with Sano's under developed muscles). He was constantly badgering him, wanting to know details about pointless topics, and clearly thrusting the prospects of friendship onto him. And as Sano continued his training it grew more apparent as to why that was.
Because even though Jac and Groto were cordial to both Sano and Uno (more to the latter than the sour-faced former) they tended to stick to each others side then really associate with Uno. And Itgu, the last boy who rarely spoke to anyone unless it was mean and brought them down, was like Sano in the aspect of wanting nothing to do with 'friends', though for vastly different reasons.
And so Uno tried to be 'buddies', as the oaf sometimes chose to word it, with Sano who was nearest to him due to circumstance and shared his bunk. And even as Sano repeated himself over and over again for him to shut up, to cease bothering him, and to leave him the Hell alone, the buffoon refused to see the fact that his companionship was not wanted nor welcomed.
And if Sano thought for one teensy moment that the others weren't going to prove to be annoying as well, then he was immeasurably wrong.
Hoto, with his tobacco laden breath and slurring oily voice, was still demonstrating his flaws as Captain or even as a solider with his sloth-like manner and general indifference with anything other than reminding Sano of his mistake (which he was starting to see as such unfortunately) in choosing to stay and become an assassin.
Jac, though Sano could hardly see why, had a stiff and mere tolerant attitude towards him. The boy had no problem whatsoever to call him a 'jerk' when he snapped at Uno or Groto, and was more than happy beating him aside during sparring lessons (since this boy came out top of the group in everything they were put to and was proud of it). However, if Sano found himself in an apathetic mood and didn't insult his peers as much as was usual of him, Jac was a bit more respectful towards him. Which, interestingly enough, Sano was more annoyed with because it wasn't consistent and threw him off, putting him in a foul mood.
Groto was annoying in the meek, nervous, constantly flinching way which Sano was more than sure to be a bad trait to have in a solider, much less a dangerous assassin. He constantly apologized as well, even when it was Sano that was insulting him, and often times then not, looked on the verge of tears during training. Jac took pity on him and babied him, protecting him from Sano and Itgu who barked at him when he was in the way. He was also unmistakably friendly to all within proximity of him, and like it was with Uno, Sano found it to be an undesirable feature to his current situation.
Itgu was annoying in a far different way from the rest, as mentioned briefly before. It was a pity, Sano thought, that he hadn't got a proper first impression of Itgu until later, or he would've avoided him much faster and with more ease. It was only late into the first training day that he was able to see Itgu for what he really was. As soon as Uno and Sano (still bickering about earlier arguments) had crashed through the metal door of the barracks, Itgu had found it fine time to show his true colors to him.
Itgu sniffed obscenely when they had passed by his bed, and smirked when Sano grimaced in the direction of the nasty sound his throat and nose had created together. He smirked again, clearly pleased to have the pinch-faced boy's attention, and asked in a clearly faking casual tone, "So chum, what did Captain Nanbu have you two girls do for being last in the run?"
"Nothing," Sano glared narrow-eyed, judging the boy to be arrogant based on appearances, which was confirmed by his next words.
"That run was nothing," Itgu leaned back, an overconfident sneer spreading over his lips, "And everything else too. It's just too bad you and Mydo wouldn't know much about that since it took forever for you guys to finish. You might've done the other exercises with the rest of us if you had." His pale gray eyes met Sano's dusky ones then shot across the room to meet Uno's near pupiless-black orbs mockingly, before finishing with a chuckle, "Not that you two would've had an easy time with any of that. Sit-ups and push-ups might've been too much for the new guy- and Mydo never could do them in the first place!"
Uno's head, after initially meeting Itgu's eyes, had been looking down and fumbling with his night shirt, but it pulled up suddenly to shout back, "Shud up, Itgu!"
"Psshh!" Itgu laughed through his even wider grin, meeting Sano's burning eye-slits with malicious mirth in his own, "Not my fault that you, once again Fatty, couldn't finish the exercise with the rest of us. But, it looks like you'll finally have a friend now…"
Itgu had said the last sentence in a lowered and bubbly voice, his eyes still locked in a staring contest with Sano, and his chin tilting away in mock innocence.
Uno took a step forward, his face twisted in something of a grimace, "What's that suppose ta' mean?!"
"Oh, shut up yourself," Sano shook his head at Uno, finally breaking eye contact with Itgu and deciding him a nuisance to be easily ignored, before he took three long strides and promptly lifted himself into the bunk above Uno's, adding in his low drawling tone, "Don't fuel his fire. It will only aggravate you more, Idiot."
"Humph!" Uno rolled his eyes and all but threw himself into his creaking bunk with a metallic screech escaping from his bed-springs. He rolled his considerable mass over again, his back away from Itgu, and grumbled to the space above him, "Like I'd listen to youse." Before his mumbling lowered to incoherent strings of syllables that only grew loud enough for phrases like '-calling me's an idiot all the time-' and '-yeesh, what a jerk-'
When Uno's rambling died and Itgu finally kicked the light switch to shut the lights down (Captain Hoto was to see them turn the lights out but was unsurprisingly absent in his duty), a meek voice broke through the semi-darkness.
"Hey," Groto lifted his body gently and leaned over the edge of his bunk to look at both of them with a friendly smile, "I heard you guys did extra laps, s'at right?"
"Yeah," Sano bent his elbows behind his head and cupped his neck, his moody frown still slapped over his lips "So what of it?"
"Nothing," Groto shook his head, clearly backing out of his earlier plan to break the tension with a few kinds words, "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Bunch of show-offs."
"Rekis, that ain't nice!" Groto gasped at the growled remark that had flitted up on a high-pitched tone from underneath him. He offered an apologetic nearly glowing green-eyed stare across the bunk row to both Sano and Uno and whispered to Jac laying below him. "I don't think that's why they did it!"
"Whatever," Jac shifted and put his hand on top of his light-orangey shaved head. "They still did it. Probably want to suck up to the Captains for their inability, is that right?" Dark reddish brown eyes defiantly met the boys' eyes from across the space.
"What's your problem?" Uno frowned lightly and turned heavily on his back to spare having to look over his fatty shoulder, "What'd we do to youse?"
"Why does Captain Nanbu and Captain Hoto like you so much, huh?" Jac flipped over to look at him as well, only with a much more fast and deliberate movement before he took a swipe under his nose with a band-aid padded thumb, "I heard them talking about you two. 'really hope they make it', 'they don't seem to be doing so well, are they?' 'oh, I'm sure they'll surprise us by the end-' It's stupid! I run like I'm supposed to, do as I'm told, and what? You guys end up the favorite because you're the bottom of the class?"
"I's don't know what youse talking about," Uno crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks, "But I's didn't do anything wrong!"
"Except suck," Itgu's snide voie sniggered from the other row.
"Shut up!" Sano hissed back.
Jac rolled over stiffly and shook his head against his pillow, declaring, "I work twice as hard as anyone here!"
"You can't say that," Uno jutted out his bottom lip, "I work hard's too, ya know?"
"No, I work twice as hard," Jac closed his eyes, "I know I do."
The group could only be called disastrous when Captain Nanbu took them through leadership and teamwork exercises, and the Captain grew more worried about how to pair them up when no one on the same level of ability seemed to get along. But for the most part, Sano didn't worry a bit about his future partner, whatever unfortunate fellow beside him would become that, or even if he would have a partner to suit his sour personality. For all he cared, and figured, he'd be the first to break tradition and go it solo.
Once again, when the fifth morning came of his training days, the young teenage group moved far ahead of him on their way to breakfast. Unfortunately, the Black Mage named Kodai woke them up this morning (bleary-eyed and exceptionally early) instead of the lazy Hoto. It actually was the first harsh 'army' experience Sano had besides the training itself.
While they quickly dressed, Uno pointed out that Kodai was the least fun to have around. Kodai then silenced him with a hiss to prove his point and barked for them to hurry up. Kodai, Sano determined, was a man of very few words, and even fewer smiles. His angry attitude made even Captain Hoto's scowl seem friendly. When he spoke at all it was in curt three-word commands. If he spoke a sentence, it wasn't a good thing and usually meant that whoever he addressed had made him as infuriated as is possible.
Through carefully placed whispers, Uno informed Sano that Kodai was under Hoto's command, and more likely than not, finally became fed up with how the Captain was lax in his duties and decided to pick up the slack. Sano scoffed. It would figure...
As Sano paced himself behind, not wanting to accidentally catch up with the idiotic chatterboxes as he had done a couple of times before, he took in the strange sight of the dawn. Due to the early rise from the Black Mage, Sano was looking at the hint of sun peeking just over the horizon, stretched far away from the city. Sano found himself looking out towards the direction of the ocean, a blanket of night still hovering over the cold churning waves past the winding streets of Bevelle. The base was built on the upper districts, close to the Temple, and so he could see all the city tumbling away from the center below him. It made him think of the view from the barred window of the orphanage above his bed. Except, he now stood where the view ended, and could see what structures tumbled downhill from him in all directions. He easily found the crappy district where the orphanage was located, pushed far from him and his safe spot.
Sano sighed. Was freedom supposed to feel this damn sad?
He didn't miss the orphanage, Yevon no, but he could feel this dragging empty sensation in his chest still. Like he was received half of a great thing, and was sorely disappointed with the half he got. He should be glad, he told himself, that he could walk and finally look down at the things that he wished to escape, but he didn't. The feeling of freedom he felt while running away didn't return to him, and was moving farther away from him each second.
It's only because Yagi is dead.
He pushed on from where he had stopped in his tracks, his head bent low. I should still feel glad he told himself again, I get to breathe the cool northern air and see the purplish inky sky give way to grayish light of a imminent sunrise on the horizon. I should like that, and all of this, even if Yagi can't anymore. But, I don't, and I don't care. Why am I still here? Where would I go if I wasn't here? Does it matter? I want to stop feeling terrible...I don't know how.
The birds that nearly always greeted him were fewer in number and only rustled in the trees, waiting for the warmth of the coming sun. He was still sore and achy as he always was, and relatively tired from the different wake-up call, but more than that his entire posture was pulled suddenly down. Sano's frown deepened and remain there as he pushed his way into the mess hall.
Without a word, he sat in his usual spot next to Uno, the other somehow sensing his worse than average mood and remaining thankfully silent, and Sano reached for the middle basket of bread (warm this time since he got there early). He bit into it, chewing mindlessly and only dimly thought once that he might reach out to Mia (since no matter what he failed to do he missed her) and find his ever elusive and mysterious father. Just to fill the emptiness of his time.
"Hey," Uno tapped his arm, interrupting his thoughts. Now that there was less kids, or maybe now that all of the formality was over, they ate with the trained soldiers. And since they had awoken on the actual acceptable time, they were crammed in with the great bulk of the breakfasters. Crowded as it was, Sano bumped into a Yevon Defender's arm and received a scornful grunt and a glare. Glaring back, Sano ignored the tap from Uno and went on eating.
Uno, not at all disheartened by Sano's ignoring him, pointed upward, "It's Bas-."
"AH!" Sano flinched as he felt icy claws on his shoulder, coincidentally belonging to a clammy hand that pressed into the hollows of his shoulder until it was right up against his neck, seemingly siphoning the heat from his entire body.
"Hello~!" Bask smiled and uncurled his bony fingers from his body, bringing them back to his emaciated self instead when Sano's head whirled around to face the ghost of a man that had grabbed him. "What's going on, Trenraka-boy?"
"Ugh," Sano winced at the feeling that laid against his neck still and turned away, his thin hand slapping against his jugular to bring human warmth back into it, "What do you want?"
"I have something for you," Bask announced happily and reached behind his leather-wrapped outfit to joyfully bring out a brown-paper wrapped package, "Just for you."
He spared a glance at it over his shoulder before scowling at it and the dark shades over the man's eyes, "I don't want it." He spat forcefully in response.
"It's not from me," Bask informed in a sudden low tone and simply let it fall from his white hands and roughly onto the table, where it made the objects and trays rattle as it hit the top with a loud thud. Everyone stopped eating and turned to him, in silence, as they subtly questioned the disturbance with squinted eyes and raised brows. Bask remained un-fazed and, for another moment, uncharacteristically serious, "It's from your sister, boy."
"My sister?" Sano's head perked and he swallowed in the still quiet, suddenly missing the typical clamor, as his tone was noticeably different and a lot lighter as he said those two words. His thin slanted eyes drifted back to the table and at the white tag that was taped to the top of the parcel. Mialyn Trenraka- in beautiful, thick, and long flowing handwriting that only could've come from his sister's confident and graceful hand. He sniffed in and grabbed the box, placing it under his arm. "Erm…T-thank you, I suppose…"
"Not my doing," Bask flicked his shades back up his face and turned, his long white hair swishing slightly. "Thank Captain Hoto by any means."
Sano's fingers were tingling, the warmth of the package from either his imagination or some source that had held the delivery before the skeletal and cold man touched it radiated into his fingertips and he felt happiness, true and bursting from his chest, for the first time in a terribly long time. He couldn't keep his face in it's characteristic downward plunge as it twitched and gradually glowed into an awkward and unaccustomed smile.
Sano stood and left, the package under his arm.
"Where are youse going?" Uno called, too late, as the two metal door slammed and the conversations picked up around him again. "What was that about- huh?" Uno turned to look at Bask and only met ceiling with his eyes as the Alchemist and his Cheshire-grin were gone.
Dear Sano,
How can I possibly begin to say how sorry I am? This happened to you because of me. I didn't watch you or Yagi close enough after Mom died. I'm afraid you've suffered far more than you ever should've. Maybe you hate me. - How have you been? I know that sounds stupid now, doesn't it? After all this time but, Oh Yevon, I want to see you again. I heard about Yagi-that's when I found out what happened to you two. I looked for you for a really long time. I want you to know that. Yagi must've somehow got past the people Ayro paid, as he put that all his personal effects were to be sent to me when he - passed. Ayro tried to hide the package when it arrived but, fortunately, I stopped him in time and learned the truth. But I still couldn't find you and Ayro refused to tell me where he hid you. I'm sorry, Sano. I looked for you in the nearby orphanages but I couldn't find you anywhere. It was only when Captain Hoto sent a letter to me yesterday that I knew what became of you. It made me so happy and yet very sad. He says you can't see me. You probably don't want to see me anyways. But I'm so happy you're alive.
If you can forgive me, I'll visit you soon. Just let me know. Ayro is gone, so don't worry about that. When and if you come back I'll be where we always lived.
Love,
Sister.
P.S. Yagi's stuff is in the package. I'm sorry, I hope it comes to help you, maybe, deal with what's happened. I can't bear to look at it anymore.
He wiped his eyes. It was short but it was all he needed. Mia didn't know what to say, he saw that plainly in in the dried tear drops that had smeared some of the blue pen on the paper and the many short dashes, made by her hesitation, trying to find the right words.
But, she missed him, she cared...
And Ayro was gone.
"I forgive you. I want to come back." Sano nodded and choked lightly on the tears coming up. He wiped quickly at his eyes and sniffed loudly, the fact he was a boy forbidding him to cry over his sister's letter.
His hand dove into the box instead to distract him and it came up with two bits of paper clenched in his fist. The first scrap had Blitzball scores on it from Yagi's favorite team and from the way it was folded many times, had probably been in his pocket. His hand writing had been jotted over the other team's names with calculations and probabilities for championships and player's abilities. Sano looked at it sadly, the championship his brother was predicting for was played almost half a year ago.
The second paper was folded too, though only once and the piece was considerably smaller. It was white, and obviously something more personal than a magazine clipping. Sano, not at all feeling comfortable in opening it yet, put it on his lap and left it there as his hand dipped into the package again.
His hand returned with a black shirt and pants, the funeral clothes that Yagi wore. He held it to his face and sniffed in, his entire face hurting from the tears he still bid himself to hold back. It still smelled like his brother, like sweat and water mixed together, and Sano felt a deep wish for the past again like he felt in the worst times in the orphanage.
He folded the nice cloth twice over his knee and squared his shoulders with another sniff to make another venture into the contents of the box.
"So, how'd you get your hands on that package?"
Sano jumped and his head whipped around to see Captain Hoto leaning into a light pole, a cancer stick dangling from his lips and wiggling with his words as he asked, "Well? I carried it with me this whole morning and I put it in my office for no more than five minutes and it was gone just like that."
"Bask gave it to me, sir…" Sano said cautiously, his head lowering into his shoulders. They were off base now, in the city of Bevelle. Sano had slipped away right after leaving the mess hall, wanting complete privacy when he read the letter and opened the package, but he wasn't entirely sure if he was allowed. Technically, he knew he wasn't when he was expected for role call soon, but he hadn't exactly meant to get caught off the grounds anyways.
Hoto's oily voice followed his thin black brow rising, "You do know that it is training right now, don't you boy?"
Captain Hoto smoked casually behind him and blew smoke rings into the air as Sano shifted the box on his lap and carefully thought, his mind on many topics that had nothing to do with training.
"W-were you here the entire time?" Sano croaked after the man said nothing more.
Hoto nodded, "Yeah. More or less. Bask is an idiot, don't let what he said get to you or anything. He's a nut, and he doesn't know what he's talking about-"
"Why did you send the letter?" Sano watched as the man's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about? I sent nothing. Whatever Bask told you it is a lie," Hoto took a drag of his cigarette and looked absently to the side.
"You're a liar," Sano held up Mia's letter, and waved it for emphasis. His eyes narrowed into slits and he spat, "My sister said you sent her a letter."
Hoto sighed, slowly blinked and then sighed again as he resigned himself to tell the truth, "I found it a bit suspicious when you said you had no relations," Hoto inhaled, and let the smoke spill from his lips as he continued, "Then go turn around and say you're Yagi's brother. Uhm, and uh…Yagi had a sibling that he talked about all the time so, I figured you wanted to get to her too…right? That's what you said the first day, or something along those lines, I think. I don't know, I wasn't entirely listening to your sob story."
"Hnn," Sano sneered and turned to look almost distantly at the half emptied box with Yagi's things. A wave of loneliness and regret coursed through him as he thought of his recently lost brother. He was so full of life, and now he was gone. Just like that.
It was official, since Mia had his personal effects and everything, but Sano could do little more than stare stupidly at the box.
A hoarse smoker's-cough jerked Sano's eyes to the side as Hoto bent down on creaking knees, his fist pounding his chest under his quivering cigarette clamped in his teeth. The Captain peered at the things in Sano's lap before the last shaking of the spasm ebbed and he spoke with a twitch in his white stick poised in his lips, "You know…if you want to pretend to have a cold to have a free day, I won't mind. This one time!" He added hastily, "But, ah uhm, You just get back to base before light's out, and…" His voice suddenly lowered, "Just don't go see your sister yet. You'll have time for that later, I -erm, promise. If you do something stupid now, you may never get the chance to see her again, understand?"
"Wha-?" Sano blinked, his face tight in a constricted frown, "I don't understa-."
"I find a good walk can clear your head. A…friend of mine used to enjoy walks." When Sano gave him an incredulous look, Hoto shrugged lightly and took his cigarette from his mouth to tap it free of the ashes, "Hey, everyone needs a break."
"I just started training-" Sano began to argue.
"What kid wants to fight about not only a chance to play hooky, but a Captain-approved hooky?" Hoto popped the butt back into his mouth and gruffly asked, "Do you want the break or not?"
"Forgive me, but I'm just suspicious as to why you'd allow me this pleasure." Sano was steadfast in his doubt. In full truth, he suspected that if he took the offer, then the Captain would hold it against him later as an excuse to put him to some horrendous task or as blackmail.
"Do you think that my only purpose in Bevelle is to make your life miserable?" Hoto smirked a bit and pushed the cigarette to the corner of his sharp lips, "You think that I just sit in my office, shirking off my duties, to plot ways in which to torment you? Honestly, boy, as much fun as it is to tease you, do you think I'd really put that much work into something?"
Sano willed himself not to show any signs of having found that last bit funny (since it was surely partially true he realized) and his face stayed stony though his brows raised a little.
"I'm only offering it because it's true, everyone needs a break," Hoto raised his hand against Sano's opening mouth, before letting his hand fall to his side, "Not just from training, but from life. A lot has happened to you, hasn't it?"
Something that could've been pity passed through his inverted eyes, though to Sano it seemed a little more sadder than that, but it disappeared quickly as Hoto stood up, his knees cracking loudly. The Captain winced noticeably, muttering "Oh, ow," Before he flicked his cigarette away from him and droned, "Be back by bunk time, don't leave Bevelle, and try and not do anything illegal or get caught doing it in any case, alright cadet?"
"Alright," Sano offered a smile towards the Captain for the first time, and only because his back was turned away from him, and nodded as he stood up, the package still in hand. He saluted with his opposite hand, softly stating, "Yes sir."
"Uhn," Hoto shrugged, without looking, before walking away down the alleyway, leaving him with the open package alone.
He sat back down and rustled through the rest of it: Silver glasses, random snap shots of Yagi with army men and a few un-sent letters to their old home. Sano clutched the silver glasses, finding them odd since Yagi had good eyesight as he remembered, before looking into the faces of the pictures more carefully and seeing a half-familiar face staring back at him.
Silver circles framed Yagi's down slanted eyes, making him more intelligent looking and less playful than Sano remembered. His wild hair was well combed down to the sides of his head, and Yagi clutched a helmet in his crooked elbow as he stood straight in uniform and armor.
So Yagi needed glasses? Sano held the pair for a second longer, then lifted them and squinted his own eyes through them, then blinked and winced. He must've had horrendous eyesight!
He placed them gently back into the box and flipped through the pictures more thoroughly. Men that Sano didn't know surrounded his brother, smiling, laughing, or an arm around his shoulder. Sano felt so alien from the people that Yagi stood amongst like he belonged. He reasoned that Yagi had to have lived some life beside searching for his poor starving brother, but Sano was saddened by the snapshots nonetheless.
He tossed them into the box, his scowl deep on his face. His hands touched the letters, but he tossed them after the pictures, suddenly feeling like he didn't want to know what his dead brother's words home were.
'-I'm looking real hard for Sano, but still keeping track of my Blitzball scores-'
'-I'm making lots of new friends and having loads of fun, but still no clue about Sano-…'
Sano's face darkened as he thought of more potential words were scrawled in the folded paper before his cheeks suddenly flushed pink as he shamefully remembered his brother was dead and it was disrespectful to think of the brother he had admittedly loved and waited for years on in this way.
He picked up the black clothes from his knee and the second folded piece of paper that was with the Blitzball scores suddenly fluttered down to the ground as he stood with the funeral attire. He slanted eyes followed it until it's one crease opened up a little and showed red ink across the inner surface.
Home for Unfortu-
Sano snatched it up hurriedly, and with a beating heart, pulled it apart with a crinkle of the surface rubbing against his hands and nearly tearing in the middle in his excitement. His eyes dashed over the red ink and he clutched it tighter, his hands shaking.
Home for Unfortunate Ones. Sano
It had the name of the old orphanage on it and underlined many times and heavily was his own name.
Was Yagi going to get him soon? Rescue him on his next leave? Or would he screw the leave and get him anyways, after he came back to Bevelle from fighting Sin?
Some how it didn't matter, he held the scrap to his chest as he bent over his knees. His chest was light, not heavy like he expected and a smile spread over his mouth as he thought about his most annoying elder sibling he ever had. Everything was forgiven and somehow he felt the memory of his brother was lighter for it too.
A leather pouch was also in the package but it didn't have anything in it.
He shoved all he could into the pouch. His brother's letters, photos, glasses, and finally the three scraps of paper, one with in his father's handwriting from his own pocket and two in his brother's from the package.
Then he placed the letter from his sister on top. She was still alive. He still had a family waiting for him. And that mattered above all importance and thus held the highest point of honor and care.
He attached the pouch to his belt and pulled it to his side. He looked down at the black clothes that sat on the stone ground, looking just his size now that he was as old as Yagi was when they were taken. He took off his training shirt and yanked the black cloth over his bony shoulders. It was baggy. Apparently, Yagi was bigger then he was back then.
He tied off the midsection and shoved the funeral pants and training shirt into the pouch, rolling it up first so it could fit.
Sano took one more look at the box but found no return address on it. All the same, Mia promised to be back home in the Moonflow. Sano sighed in something that felt like relief, and turned on his heel to simply walk, anywhere, taking Hoto's suggestion in mind.
A content and calm patience came with the hope of being reunited with his sister. He had been waiting for the chance to see Mia for so long, before he was scared about seeing her, and now, it was falling so easily into his hands without much effort from him. Really funny, since it came only in the moment when he was afraid to face her. That fear was gone now, and the emptiness that he had been suffering with in the early morning was quickly forgotten.
It felt odd. Surprisingly, he wasn't bearing an ounce of anxiousness or impatience. Suddenly, 'soon' wasn't so long of a wait at all.
He didn't leave Bevelle, just like Captain Hoto ordered, but he made circles in the city, aimlessly strolling wherever his feet led him. His head swiveled, slanted eyes observing daily life with honest interest for once.
If walking to the mess hall was a sweet taste of freedom that he was deprived of in the orphanage, then the sensation of walking about Bevelle was a far more wholesome flavor. The red decorated walls seemingly got closer to him and the fountains sparkled. He always looked at the city with a bit of contempt, but it seemed nicer than it was before in this new light.
It was a good city. For the first time in his life, he thought so.
Sano took care to bring little attention to himself, though very little acknowledged him anyways. It wasn't a strange thing for cadets to be sent on errands for the Captains or kitchens, on deliveries or to fetch things, so having a young boy in military pants walking around hardly mattered. Sano took time in exploring the city, never once being able to learn where shops were, what roads lead to where, or what buildings looked like beyond the walls before, when he was trapped behind a crooked chain-link fence belonging to the orphanage.
And besides the mad-dash to the Temple and then being escorted to the base, he had never seen the unknown parts of Bevelle and never had this much time on his hands to simply look.
As the morning matured, the volume of traffic swelled. Away from the religious district holding the Temple and base nearby, shops lined the colorful reddish streets and carts and swearing could be heard as people weaved their way through the city. Sano sidestepped them and made sure to watch his toes.
Bevelle was one of the most prosperous cities in Spira for a reason, and Sano derived that it was because of Bevelle's enormous appetite for rich goods that allowed it to be this way. Bolts of brightly colored silk and other tightly woven material, flawless craftsmanship reflected through silver plate ware and crystal glass, and quality food products all winked in-between the bodies of well-dressed people and beggars alike.
Sano eyed different goods displayed across the different stands and shops, secretly weighing his gil-purse (which he had originally stolen from the orphanage with a whole 20 gil within), as he hungrily took in all the most interesting merchandise.
He had been indifferent for a great many things before this point, material-wealth only earning his disdain and jealousy all at once, and though there was hardly anything he could afford in Bevelle, he managed to indulge himself and purchase a few things.
He bought cheap cigarettes and an old lighter from an old uncaring looking man behind a rickety stand that didn't even bother asking how old he was (not that it mattered). Then, while enjoying the ebbing of his cravings as he puffed on the cigarette in a secluded alleyway, he peered out to watch the people going by. He was weighing the purse in his hand again, thinking deeply over his 13 gil left, and contemplating whether or not to buy Mia a gift as well when his stomach rumbled.
The sun had already passed mid-point by a couple of hours when Sano felt the complaint of his stomach demanding food. He had wandered a long time in the market district, and when he wanted a bit of peace to smoke he had slunked out of the busy area. Sano stepped out of the alley and looked around for a place of cheap food, finding it quickly (in fact several choices) as he went two blocks down to a line of stands selling low-priced and some questionable food.
Finding the cleanest looking stand and person running it, Sano bought himself a pasty from the vendor wearing a loose robe, far too big for his scrawny shoulders, and a tilted cap on his head. Sano, while biting into his snack and putting away his meager coin purse, looked around the street again. Unlike the first set of streets he had journeyed into, these were rougher and duller in both paint and care.
Clearly, he had stepped out of the inner circle of Bevelle a while ago and into the back and more modest part of the city. He, for a moment, grew nervous knowing that it was in this part that the orphanage was located somewhere. But, then he relaxed, comforted by the fact that he was owned by the army now and that he smelled the strong scent of the sea in the air (telling him that he was far from where the orphanage was located yet).
But, he had heard enough stories to know that the most crime in Bevelle (though indeed there was very little) always occurred by the docks and the surrounding neighborhoods. Sano swallowed down the rest of his pasty and kicked off the ground toward the Temple district that rose in superiority on the horizon.
To prove his point that this wasn't a nice place to be, a set of dice-players in the corner started to quarrel violently over a bargain made. Sano picked up his pace, his head ducked down to avoiding the tossed bottles, minding his own business, and didn't stop his half-trot until he couldn't hear the bickering anymore. He sighed in relief, knowing he was edging back towards the market district again.
The sun started to set lower in the sky as Sano finally set foot under an arch that was the market-district's border. It was nearing afternoon and he confidently made his way toward the Temple that led the way.
A bit reluctant to admit, Sano found that the walk had lifted a lot of weight from him. His heart strangely didn't feel constricted anymore, instead, almost happy, and that his mind was cleared of a lot of cobwebs. Walking was good for him and he decided that he'd do it often when he got back to Mia in the Moonflow.
The market place was generally empty as he strolled right on through it, and soon he was the only one on the street at all as dinner time neared. Most stores had already closed, and families already swept back into homes to eat. Sano felt his stomach pull a little, the snack having apparently done nothing as his appetite was already used to hearty army food, and picked up his pace again to make it back for the last meal. He reminded himself to speak in an even more nasally voice when he arrived so that he would be convincing in having been sick the entire day.
"Hey kiddo," A groggy voice spooked him, halting his steps with a screech, and pulled him from his thoughts on how people with recovering colds should act. The form that had spoken slipped out of an alley and right behind Sano's vulnerable back.
Sano spun around, holding his arms defensively, as he recognized the voice and didn't want his back exposed to him at any time. The voice couldn't be mistaken. It had only haunted his last memory of his Moonflow home for years.
Sano all but snarled as he glared at the face that confirmed his assumption, "Aryo."
Mia's former husband replied in a similar growl, "Sano."
"What do you want?" Sano clenched his fists and pressed his elbows tight against his body. He stood taller as something in his chest contracted but he swallowed it down. His thin brows pushed down into his eyes, making them nothing more than slanted slits, and a deepest scowl on his shapely lips.
If the man made a move toward him, he would yell something that would get people's attention…maybe call rape, pedophile, or something. If Yagi, who was so much stronger than him, couldn't take the man back then, like hell he could, without any help anyways. Sano slightly shifted his weight to stand on the balls of his feet, ready to run out of the man's grasp, just in case.
Ayro looked up and down the street, no one there so late in the day, before his eyes rested back on the boy, "I haven't seen you in a long time. The caretakers told me you decided that your…lodgings (more like 'prison' Sano thought) were inadequate and that you ran away with the army. Interesting choice." Aryo commented dully, "How is that treating you?"
"Splendidly." Sano acidly spat.
Aryo looked Sano up and down, observing the old funeral clothes that belonged to his older brother and the baggy military pants, before looking down the street again, his voice sickeningly friendly as he asked, "Thinking about going to see your sister, eh?"
"How'd you find me?" Sano felt himself backing up, unexpected and involuntarily, as Aryo's face cracked open in unnerving smile.
The man himself couldn't be called frightening, but it was this man that had personally placed him in Hell's arms for five years. Years he had just recently and narrowly escaped. And though Aryo single-handedly owned and deserved most of Sano's loathing, a tinge of fear bred from that hallway so long ago was surfacing now.
"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you, kiddo. Have I really ever? And to answer your question, it was simple," Ayro smirked, "All I did was follow the address on the package Mia sent and waited. I saw some old friends of mine while I was here too. That's when I heard what really happened to you. I was surprised to hear that you joined the army, but I guess that didn't last long since you're here, running away."
"I'm not," Sano took another step back as the man took one forward. "Look, I know you're not going to do anything to me. Mia doesn't have a thing to do with you anymore."
Sano hoped, no prayed, that his voice did not falter. To solidify the fact that he was not afraid, he spoke again, his voice growing in strength as he said, "I'm not what you remembered. I'm a lot stronger now and I have nothing to fear from you anymore either."
Ayro lifted a reddish brown brow, "Oh?"
Sano's head lowered as Ayro took a quick step forward and swiped him up from the street in one fist gripping his black shirt front. "Funny thing-" Aryo growled, "-You still ought to be, brat."
"Let go of me!" Sano kicked the air and met the man's middle, forcing a small grunt from his lips, before finding that the heated hands tightened around his shirt. He choked him with a quick jerk in his arm, slamming Sano's throat into his own shirt collar, followed by a sudden slap across his narrow face.
"Shut it," Aryo rumbled. Sano took a new gasp of air, and said nothing else, though his mind raced for the most foulest of insults. In his momentary silence, Aryo started slowly, "You know…I always thought you were a brat. Always whining for your mother or your older siblings. You just couldn't behave in the orphanage either. You never learned to handle being without. You couldn't be gracious for what you had. You always had to complain and get your way, isn't that right?"
"W-what is it you want from me?" Sano sputtered over his oxygen-lacking words. His eyes were shining with hate, but that speck of fear could still be seen behind them. And Ayro acknowledged it with a sneering grin.
"What do I want? I want to have both boys I put away to have stayed put and silent. But, no, you two had to cause so much trouble, what with your several attempts at escape, and Yagi trying to communicate with Mia. Though, " Aryo stopped thoughtfully, "At least Yagi did me the favor of dying so I wouldn't have to pay a few guardsmen anymore." Aryo's grin grew in size as Sano's eyes narrowed, hurt, and angry still, "But, we can't always have what we want, can we, Sano? So, I suppose I can adjust my plans a bit. See, I want to get in Mia's good gracious again, and by returning you to her, and my repentance, I think I can still get that."
"What-" Sano coughed, kicking at the air to try and lift his throat off of his shirt collar, "What in this whole wide Spira makes you think I'll help you in any way?"
"You'll have little choice," Aryo threatened darkly, "Not unless you want to be put right back in that orphanage. And I doubt you'll be running away again after the beating they'll give ya. In fact, I doubt you'll be running much of anywhere, ever again."
"P-put me down-you-you. " Sano started to thrash in his grasp, his feet already scraping the ground in his mad shuffle to escape and run away back to base. There, the army would certainly enforce his staying.
"You little friendless pest." Aryo hissed low, "You may have ran away from the orphanage, and you may try to run from the army…But, you're not running from me."
"Who's running from the army?" Sano glared hard, every nerve in his body tingling with hot loathing. Chances of escape was limited and narrowing, yet he could not surrender or quail back. Sano could only harshly spit out each of his words, "I'm under orders to not leave Bevelle. And I'm following through with it. The training, the duties, the demands-everything." His mind raced to find something to slice at Aryo with before finding the perfect thing and his eyes narrowed spitefully, "Unlike you, Ayro, I find I can handle it."
That earned another sharp slap across the face. Apparently, the man didn't like to be reminded of any shortcomings.
Aryo's face was bright red with anger under the orangey light of the setting sun. Sano felt his feet plant into the ground again, but was unable to yank himself away as Aryo raised his other fist into the air, screaming, "You son of a-!"
"Raaaaaaaaa!" Sano's eyes widened as a yell, though not from his own throat, roared from the side of them . A large bulky something crashed into Aryo's legs and toppled him over to the ground, his fingers wrenched loose from the shirt with a painful jerk. Sano gagged for breath, standing on slightly bent knees, his eyes darting over Uno as he crushed Aryo's lower body with his weight.
Seconds later, two more bodies appeared behind Uno, Groto and Itgu flinging themselves down on the arms of the man that was beating Uno's back, while Jac stepped beside Sano, arms heavy with groceries.
Cans were scattered along the sidewalk from Uno's ripped grocery bag. Groto's had simply fallen to the ground and heavily slumped over, spilling the dry packets of spices and hardy herbs. Sano stared at the paper bags, before staring at the caretakers of them and understanding. They were on errands for the kitchens, and heard him. And, inexplicably, chose to save him.
Groto looked over at Sano, face twitching slightly, "A-are you okay, Sano?"
"Yeah fine," Despite himself, he blinked his wide eyes, showing his surprise, and let out a shuddering sigh.
Uno ended up pinning the man down by his legs and hauled himself up to a sitting position. Pulling back a fist, the robust youth hollered, "Youse keep still or I'm bustin' your's nose!"
Ayro put his hands beside his head, seeing the threat in the meaty fist, before his sharp eyes darted around for an escape. There seemed to be none as shadowy children's faces loomed above him, eyes reflecting the lowering sun's face and glowing with it. Sano still stood his distance, his face catching a different effect from the sun's rays as his chin was held high.
A feeling had welled upward and caught above his collar bone. Sano weakly smiled, adrenaline falling at the sight of Uno frowning down Aryo's glares. A spark of pride, which would later ignite into friendship, surged throughout his veins and warmed him in a way he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Aw, let him go. He isn't going to do anything now." Jac sneered down at the adult for emphasis in his next statement, "He won't be stupid enough to try and take us all on."
Uno's eyes were still locked in a glaring contest with the man pinned down. The silence Jac had interrupted stretched on without care to what the boy said. Sano shifted, and spoke up again, "You might as well, Uno. You're not honestly planning on staying here all night, pinning him down, are you?"
The boys watched Uno take one last long and mean look at Ayro before slowly rising up. Aryo laid a few more moments on his back, before shaking his head and his features pressed into an infuriated and purposeful expression. He jumped and knocked the first boy he could reach aside, that being the rail-like body of Groto, before side stepping and tripping Uno as he barreled past.
Uno skidded against the walkway and broke his lip open against the stone.
"Why you-!" Jac yelled and flew at him, Ayro lifted him up by his shirt and tossed him to the ground. Itgu came forth afterward, only to be easily kicked hard in the stomach by an uplifted foot. Uno was still scrambling up as Aryo reached for Sano, who lashed out with a bony fist. It was useless as it missed first, then caught on an arm that had already grabbed a firm hold of his shirt again.
Jac jumped to his feet and grasped his own hold onto Sano's shirt, attempting to pull him down as Aryo lifted him violently and quickly up in the air. Uno had finished hauling himself up, and readied himself for another tackle into the adult, while Groto finally convinced himself to rise from the pavement, nursing a bleeding nose.
A greasy voice drawled, and held them mid-action and caught their attentions all at once, "Hey you, set him down."
The cadets gasped a bit before turning their eyes behind them towards the street. Hoto puffed on his cigarette, actually looking a bit bored, and finally decided to draw closer as Aryo obeyed, though his fist was still wrapped into Sano's shirt front.
The captain was taking his time in stalking closer, the boys noticed, even for his usual sluggish self. He smoked his stick with slow puffs and occasionally adjusted the bag of groceries he had cradled in one of his arms. He put the bag down when he was apparently close enough, letting his cigarette fall with it, and rubbed the stub out with his foot, before slowly looking back up.
"He's Yevon's property now, you know." The captain said with his eyes flicking to the hand that held Sano in place.
Ayro twitched at the casual behavior but managed to stay cool as he asked him, "Who are you, Sir?"
"Captain Hoto," Hoto nodded than stood straight again, putting his hands on his lower back and putting pressure on it, "I'm those boys', ah," His face seemed to tighten a bit as a small crack popped from his spine, "Rather old commander, see? I'm in charge of them and make sure they don't go anywhere they're not supposed to. Oh-" he added, his thin eyes hooding over, "I think you ought to let go of his shirt collar. Looks like you're choking him a bit."
Sano breathed in the sweet taste of oxygen before trying to escape again. He was stopped, however, by a crushing grip that was quickly slapped on his wrist. Aryo held him in place behind him, keeping him from the Captain's full sight.
"He's my son," Ayro growled and shook his arm hard when Sano opened him mouth to protest, "Isn't there a rule that minors must have a parent's signature to join the Yevon Army?"
"Oh?" Hoto raised his eyebrow, clearly amused, and smirked, the corner of his mouth tight, "I had understood he was an orphan."
Sano looked up at the Captain's face, unsure of what he was planning to do.
"He lied," Ayro pulled Sano more behind him, Sano hissing at the sharp pain running down his hand and up his arm, "I'm taking him back now."
"Oh, no you're not," Hoto narrowed his falcon colored eyes, "You take him, and I will shoot you in your back, you lying bastard."
Ayro stiffened, "How do you know I'm lying?"
Hoto sighed, patience Sano didn't realize he was exercising until then running thin, "Isn't it obvious? You are not his father. You're not even old enough to be his father! Let him go now or I'll unfortunately be forced to break your arm."
Jac made an oval shape with his mouth and mocked Ayro by childishly going, "Ooooooooo."
Ayro looked behind Sano into Jac's pressed face before going back to Hoto. Clearly he was sizing him up, and Sano did the same. Hoto was gangly, age clearly wearing down on his joints as it did on the corner of his eyes, and he had strands of gray intermediately between his oily black hair. Aryo, though hardly strapping, could probably beat him down enough to get away with kidnapping a boy again. Sano swallowed, hardly feeling comforted by the fact that Hoto was set on not letting this man take him away.
"I'm older than I look," Ayro insisted, evidently trying a smarter and easier way of getting away with it, and the already bruising grip tightened around Sano's arm, forcing out a wince. Aryo then sneered at the none too pleased looking face of the Captain, "You can't take my son."
"I've already said you are not this boy's father. So, you can't take him," Hoto grabbed Ayro shoulder and yanked him closer, his towering height overpowering Sano's once brother in law, and Sano swallowed down what he earlier thought and smiled hopefully.
Aryo's face was fairly shocked, inches from the Captain's, as the latter glared daggers into the shorter man's face. Aryo recovered quick enough though, and growled, "I suppose you have proof that I'm not?"
"And am I to assume you have proof that you are?" Hoto leaned forward and hissed. Ayro stuttered for words and Hoto chuckled, putting a hand in a pouch behind him for another cigarette. He stuck it in his mouth and flipped a matchbook out from his front pouch and brought it to light with one hand. In one swift motion he lit the end before flicking the match out and blowing smoke from the side his mouth into Ayro's face. Ayro was caught up in his watching his cool attitude, and finally shook his head to regain his senses.
Aryo asked, "What are you going to do if I don't?"
"Didn't I already illuminate that for you?" Hoto made a smooth motion with his wrist, "If you stupidly choose to take this boy, I'll shoot you in your back."
"Fine," Ayro yanked himself free from the Captain's grasp and made a show of stepping a way from Sano, each of his steps deliberate and slow, with his hands held beside his head. Hoto wiggled the stick in his mouth amusedly before opening his thin lips again.
"If ever you come back for Trenraka-" Hoto chuckled darkly, "You might never be seen again."
Something in the sallow-skinned man's face spoke miles of ominous and foreboding truth.
The message was sent and Ayro shrunk before he slunk away, peeved and slumped shouldered. As soon as his back was out of sight into the city, Uno busted out in booming laughter.
"Bwa ha ha ha ha hahahahhahaha!"
"What's so funny, Mydo?" Hoto blinked and patted the hand that held up Ayro against his pant leg, almost subconsciously, before laying his hand at his side.
Uno waved the air before looking back at the almost kidnapped boy, "Hey, did youse know's that guy, Sano?"
Sano, first sputtering and snorting, held back his laugh in his throat before it exploded. Uno opened his shallow black eyes wider at the odd display of positive emotion from Sano's part and Hoto raised an eyebrow again, the stick slightly bobbing in his mouth.
"You're an idiot!"
"Hey's, I am not!"