UNDER KINGSGLAIVE TRAINING.
CHAPTER 4
Hospital Confessions.
ooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo
"So… you want me to get in there?"
Lightning, with a cast on her left arm, a few Band-Aids on her cheek, and a few stitches on her head, felt very, oh-so-very uncomfortable with the hospital gown the nurse had procured for her, especially because she was almost completely naked right underneath it (well, she still had her panties on, but it still felt like naked), and even felt more weary she had to go around the hospital sitting in a wheel chair, as if she couldn´t walk, and what had been the worst part, was the 'run-run-wheeee' sounds Nyx had been making ever since he took the handles of such wheelchair. Would someone please tell her how old the guy was again? Twelve? Well, being honest, maybe all those hits he had received in his battles had finally destroyed part of his brain matter. Yep, that had to be it.
But returning to the issue at hand…
"That´s an MRI scanner, sweetheart, it won´t hurt you."
"It looks like a big doughnut, Sparks, don´t you like doughnut?"
Please someone kill her. Or, here´s a better thought. Someone please kill him.
"That´s not a doughnut, moron, that´s a freaking terrifying machine ready to swallow me whole."
The nurse rolled her eyes once more. "Of course it´s not, sweetie, it´s going to…ah…take pictures of your brain."
"My brain is perfectly fine, thank you."
"No, it´s not, it´s…"
But the nurse couldn´t finish the sentence, since Nyx spun the wheelchair to face him, and then kneeled in front of the stubborn girl.
"Look, Sparks."
"The name is Lightning."
"Whatever. Look, if you don´t get inside that machine by your own free will, we will all have to hold you down, they´re going to put needles inside your arms (and mind you, it hurts a lot more than the stitches in your head), and then make you sleep, so you´ll be totally defenseless against us and, who knows? Maybe we´ll take advantage of that and do a few more tests that will make you uncomfortable everywhere on your tiny whiny body once you wake up. How does that sound?" After finishing his words, he sent her the sweetest (and most creepy) smile he could muster.
Lightning paled at his words, and looked at the nurse who, obviously, nodded at her, agreeing soundlessly to every word he had said. The bitch. The small pinkette gulped at the mental images his words had created, but swallowed hard and clenched the wheelchair harder than ever, knuckles white for the effort.
But she was named Lightning for a reason. No matter the situation, she always won. Something. Anything.
"Okay, fine, but you´ll have to stop calling me Sparks."
"What? No way!"
"Then forget it."
"Fine. Nurse!"
"Okay! Fine! Fine! I´ll do it if you stop saying that horrible name for a month!"
"An hour."
"A week!"
"A day."
"Two days and that's final."
He looked intently at the nurse, who was now covering her mouth, giggling.
"Your call, missy." He made the move to rise from his spot. "Please, miss nurse, proceed."
"Okay, fine!" Lightning took Nyx by the arm to stop him, and pulled him again in front of her, giving him the best glare she could muster. "A freaking day! Geez, you can be so childish sometimes!"
He winked at her. "We have a deal, girl."
The immediate, radiant and triumphant smile Nyx mustered made Lightning want so much to kick him in the groin, but thought against it, because he could be so mad it would make him go away and just leave her there, all by herself. In reality, she still appreciated that he had remained by her side all the time, when he didn´t have to.
Not that he was ever going to hear that from her mouth.
The pinkette stood up, her posture rigid and her chest puffing in pride, at least as much as she could with the few broken ribs still hurting; Lightning walked purposefully to the entrance of the machine, and as she passed by the threshold of the MRI, her exposed flesh was met by a powerful chill coming from the inside of the room, the air conditioner torturing her like never before. The inside smelled of medicine and antiseptics, and the deafening sound all around the metallic box sent goosebumps down her back. The walls were painted all white, and the lights were shinning so bright, the overall ambient blinded her, making her feeling as if she were on the spot, everybody´s eyes glued to her very move. It felt as if she were a testing subject ready to be dissected. She gulped again at the thought, and prompted by the nurse behind her, got over the table of the machine, eyeing warily the big round artifact, as if it were a type of monster ready to swallow her whole.
It was such a childish thought, and she knew it. But as much as she tried to reason her situation, neither her heart would stop jogging, nor her mind would stop torturing her.
Please… don´t explode on top of me…please tell me it doesn´t hurt…too much…please tell me I´ll see Serah again…
She sent a glance towards the window, and saw Nyx giving her the thumbs up. She was feeling so scared, she couldn´t even gather the will to even make a face at him. So instead she just broke eye contact, without uttering a single word, least she lost all her courage and took a sprint towards him, running away from the freaking machine.
Her silence and overall lack of response at his antics astonished Nyx to no end, and he looked up to see the girl through the TV camera monitoring her every move, and that allowed him to have a very good look at her face. He couldn´t stop registering in his brain those big blue eyes, so evidently full of fear, the thin line of her tightened lips, her countenance that of a person going to the gallows, awaiting the promise of sheer agony. Or death. Lightning was evidently scared beyond impossible, and was facing all that fear all by herself.
Once more.
"I want to go in." He immediately spoke, giving a step forward, but a palm stopped him in his tracks. It was one of the technicians.
"Don´t worry, sir, she´s going to be fine. It will take but a couple of minutes."
"But she´s all alone and scared in there."
"I said not to worry." The technician said, half his attention on him, half on the machine.
"Why can´t I be in there?" Nyx insisted, watching anxiously the camera portraying those scared puppy orbs. Lightning wasn´t the type of girl that made puppy eyes for no reason whatsoever. She was afraid, and he had promised himself he would do anything to prevent her from being scared ever again.
"It´s dangerous, you can´t go inside because there are metallic objects in your uniform, and you could end up glued to the walls because of the power of the magnets."
"What if I stand there all naked?"
The technician glared at him. "You could, but it´s forbidden to be naked, sir. You could stand inside if you wear a bathrobe too, but as I said you shouldn´t worry, the girl is going to be fine."
Nyx fell silent at his words, retreated to the corner of the room, and then fixed his eyes on the monitors, to Lightning's terrified face, his body now motionless, apparently giving up on his demands. The moment everyone returned their eyes towards the window and the flat panels, taking their attention off of him, he swiftly and silently undressed himself but for his boxers, and, using the speed he was famous for, took a sprint towards the entrance, right before the technician closed the door. Nyx used the advantage of surprise and pushed him backwards, closing the doors himself, and ran as fast as he could to Lightning´s side, taking her hand.
"I´m here Sparks."
"Nyx?"
"Yeah, I´m here."
She moved her head a bit, in order to get a better view of him, but just barely, since her head was already entrapped with strips and equipment all around it.
"Why the hell are you naked?"
"They said I couldn't be inside if I wore my uniform."
"Then why are you here!?"
"To accompany you."
"Who told you I needed your company?"
"You looked very scared, so I came."
She felt her blood boil at his words. "Geez, thank you, Ulric, could you say it a little louder? I think they didn´t hear you in the rest of the hospital."
He noticed she didn´t deny it. "Oh, C´mon, Sparks! Don´t be such a drama queen! And you're welcome."
And here she thought she couldn´t be angrier. "You promised you wouldn´t call me that name."
"Oh, right. Then what should I call you?"
"Lightning."
"How do your friends call you?"
"You´re not my friend."
"Hey!" He finally raised his voice at her aggressive tone. "Cut me some slack here! I´m the one standing naked and freezing only to root for you! But if you want me to, I´ll go right away."
"Tch…" She didn´t say anything else, but her fingers clutched Nyx´s hand harder. Just in case.
"Sir, you´ll have to come out, you´re not allowed to be in there." It was the voice of the technician calling him through the speakers.
"Yeah? Make me."
"We´re gonna call the police to come for you."
"I said make me!" He yelled daringly, but still giving a step closer to Lightning´s body.
Said small pinkette felt his tremors running down his body, and began to worry about his well being. After a moment of thinking it through, she sighed. She didn´t want to be alone, and she did appreciate his efforts. But, for the love of Etro, Lightning didn´t want either to be the reason of him getting in trouble, so she tried to make him come to sense.
"Nyx, you´re trembling, I can feel you shaking. Please, just obey them. You shouldn´t worry about me, I´ll be fine."
Indeed he was quivering profusely, and felt terribly dumb by being there, breaking simple rules as if he were throwing a tantrum, semi naked in front of many strangers, and inside this freaking refrigerator. His fingertips felt numb, except for the ones that the pinkette was holding. But if Lightning needed him, he would do whatever it took to be there for her. He was going to make sure he wouldn´t fail this little lady who had entrusted him her only way to survival, a trust he had blown fantastically by being an ass of a teacher. Well missy, never again.
With clattering teeth, he just squeezed her fingers harder.
"I´m not leaving without you." He closed his eyes and tried to block the freezing temperature, just like they had taught him to do in the academy.
At that moment the female doctor who had checked Lightning a few moments ago, a neurologist, Nyx had heard, entered the room and walked purposefully towards the man.
"I said I´m not leaving without her." He fixed his ankles to the ground, ready to stop whomever would dare to try. Even her. But she only threw a bathrobe at his chest and what seemed to be her jacket.
"I know you won´t, but your trembling will transmit through her hands and give us some artifacts to the image of her brain. I need a good study, otherwise we´ll have to repeat it. So put this on or I´ll cancel it and we´ll get both of you to sleep, without your consent. Besides, you´re distracting us all." She winked at him and took a swift glance downwards at his body, making him blush at the innuendo, and his hand immediately went to cover his groin.
"Nyx?" Lightning called his attention.
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Your hand suddenly became warm."
The blushing intensified, but he just let her hand go, in anger at her words and to put the clothes he had been given, so that he wouldn´t freeze to dead. Still, he verbally retaliated at her unbeknownst teasing.
"Just shut up, midget."
For the insult whose origin she couldn´t comprehend, Lightning threw a kick towards the man, unfortunately a not so well calculated one, since she didn´t know he had moved away from her, thus it landed right on his tender parts, making a crushing sound.
"Ooouuuufff!"
"Nyx!?" Lightning immediately realized her mistake, having crushed quite a good amount of tender parts in her history, and almost got up from the bed, if it weren´t for the restrains she had.
"Stop moving, girl!" the speakers inside the room allowed them to know the technician was very, very angry, "…or I´ll make sure you both pay for this!"
Lightning returned to her position, blushing and worried for her coach.
"Nyx? Are you… are you alright?"
"Yeah…" He said, almost breathless, trying to preserve his dignity, but taking her hand again. "Don´t worry about me… you actually… missed…" He was doubled over himself, jacket already on him, and clutching his groin with his free hand in hopes of diminishing the pain.
"I´m sorry, Nyx. I didn´t mean to hurt you…at least no that bad."
"It´s okay, kiddo… my… balls are made of steel. I barely felt it…" he breathed in and out deeply, as he finally managed to sit on the chair next to her.
"You sound bad."
"It´s because it´s cold… in here."
She smiled softly, clutching his hand harder.
Such an idiot. But the idiot at least made her feel safe.
"My friends call me Light."
He looked up, surprised, and then smiled at her. "I thought I wasn´t your friend."
"Just shut up or I´ll forbid you to call me that too."
ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo
A few hours later, Lightning was already on her hospital room, a very small four-walled square with a single bed, a single nightstand, a tiny bathroom, a sofa next to her bed and a small flat TV.
At least is not painted white.
Being considered still a child had its ups, it seemed. At least the walls were painted with different colors, this time light orange, as well as the curtains, plus, she didn´t mind having princesses and dragons plastered all around the room. They made the place a little bit more comfy. To be honest to herself, Lightning still enjoyed those shows, so in a way, having this imagery around her, made her feel more at home. The window was big, which allowed a lot of sunlight to enter, and a lot of wind to pass by. It somewhat comforted her. But the downside of the room, besides not being hers and lacking the presence of her sister, were the huge windows on the other side of the wall, ones that allowed perfect view from the hallway.
She felt like she was in the zoo, she being one of the animals on display.
And here on your left, we have a very weird species, almost in the brick of extinction, a Lightning, subclass, Farron…
"So, what happened to Amodar?"
"Mmmh…?" Nyx´s voice broke her daydreaming. Not that she minded. She was getting rather angry at the thought.
"I´m asking, what happened to Amodar? Why wasn't he accompanying you to the training grounds? With all his bravado display, I thought he had stayed with you and wouldn´t let you out of his sight."
The small pinkette sighed, and passed a hand through her pink locks. That was a thought she really didn´t want to remember.
"He did."
"Did what? Accompany you?"
"More than accompany me, he followed me thinking I didn´t notice, trying to find out what I was doing, I´m sure."
He smirked. Those had been his exact intentions, if it weren´t for the King´s summon. "Then why wasn´t he with you when Mossberg and his gang attacked you?"
Silence. Nyx knew it wasn´t a good sign, but Lightning refused to speak up, as much as Nyx refused to give up.
"You outran him. That it?"
The teen opened up her eyes wide, surprise evident on her countenance.
"How did you…?"
The man just smiled. "Let me remind you I once was a teenager too." Nyx became serious immediately. "I´m sure you understand the meaning of this. You fooled him, your very own Godfather, and as a consequence, you got yourself pretty injured, almost to a serious level. What will you tell him?"
Lightning hung her head, hiding her face behind her palm. A headache was forming due to this conversation. But she knew it had to happen. They had already contacted Amodar, most surely he was going to arrive sooner than later.
"Light?"
"I don´t wanna talk about it. Can we change topics instead?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno, what will you get me for breakfast? Because this dinner surely sucks."
He chuckled.
"Okay, what about telling me why Mossberg was bothering you? Why did he try to… you know? And since when has he been trying?"
She moaned at his words, and hid her face in the pillow. "Do I have to answer that?"
"No. You don´t."
She lowered the pillow and looked at him, surprised by his response, but the man just winked at her, and turned to look out the window.
"It´s you the one who decides whom you trust, I´m gonna respect that and not gonna pry. I only want to know if I could´ve done something to help you out."
"You´re not everybody´s hero." She stated, almost deadpanned.
He chuckled lightly at that. Oh, how many times had he heard such a phrase? It still felt weird to hear it from a teenager.
"Yeah, I try to remind myself so everyday. But that´s how I am I guess. Can´t erase that part."
They stood in a comfortable silence for quite a while, until Nyx rose from his spot.
"Well, kiddo, are you settled then?"
She hesitated. "Yes… why?"
"I´m still not sure whether I should abandon you, but I really need to go find some dinner for myself, hadn´t eaten since this morning."
"You are leaving?" Abandoning me? Her heart skipped a beat. Such a child she had become! To preserve her dignity, in spite of her anxiety, she forced herself to remain seated.
But he had learned how to sense her anxiety pretty well.
"It´ll be just for a moment, Light. I promise. Besides, Amodar already answered your call, I´m sure he´s on his way here. Poor guy was out of his mind when he found out you were at the hospital, instead of on training grounds."
"Yeah… I guess." Guilt was something she wasn´t used to, and something she didn´t like. It seemed that lately, though, it was the only thing she was feeling. At her silence, Nyx gave a few steps towards the exit, but Lightning, not knowing how else to stop him, yelled at him.
"Mossberg was the reason why I asked you to train me."
At her words, her confession, Nyx froze on his spot, and slowly turned to look at her, sadness and guilt in his countenance.
"I know. At least, I figured as much. And you have no idea how much I regret we didn´t start your training sooner."
He stood there waiting, thinking she would elaborate further, since her eyes were the scared, crystal blue orbs he had seen before. But she remained motionless, just looking at him, as if begging him to understand without having to actually utter the words. He sighed and sat on her bed, right next to her feet, and placed his palm on her ankle, not knowing other type of reassurance he could give without seriously offending her.
"I know it´s scary, I know they did things to you that shouldn´t be done to anyone, were going to do things to you that should never be done. I don't want to push you if you feel like you´re not ready to talk. I just want to understand what happened, and why."
She broke eye contact with him, clenching her teeth, and glanced at his hand on her ankle. Such large hands, they looked so strong. She was sure he could wield a Claymore without a single effort.
The silence stretched further, but Nyx held her there. His patience paid off after a while. Lightning closed her eyes and her memory brought her back to those times.
"It started out as a game. Since you wouldn´t train us in combat, a few of the guys started punching and kicking each other in one of the alleyways near the back entrance of the Forte. Mossberg was among them. Soon they became kinda like a… a fight club, but not as hard or as violent. They were just playing, and mimicking a fight. They said it was street training…"
"I knew it!" Nyx screamed at the top of his lungs, startling the girl, while he pointed two accusatory fingers at her. "I knew you were in street fighting! Of course I knew!" He made a small, ridiculous victory dance on top of the bed, and Lightning glared at him.
"If you´re gonna behave like a baby, then forget it. I won´t tell you anything."
At her threat, he immediately extended his palms in a conciliatory gesture. "I´m sorry! I´m sorry! I was just happy to know I had something correct for once."
"Yeah, that must be a first for you."
"Hey!"
"Anyways, I always looked from afar, since they wouldn´t allow a little girl in their game. Then they invited a few of the trainees, girls among them, and I tried to claim my place too. Mossberg and Barret were against it at first, but Yaneera, you know who she is?"
"Yeah, the oldest and tallest girl of your group. She´s a very good one. But, not as good as you." He winked at the teen, who, against all odds, broke eye contact with him while her cheeks blushed.
So, there IS a feminine side of Sparks! Nyx hid his surprised chuckle with a cough, knowing it would put her on edge, and remained silent, awaiting the continuation of her story.
"Well, Yaneera said they both were just afraid at the possibility that a little girl would defeat them. I didn´t agree with the way she pushed their buttons, because immediately I could see Barret´s anger and Mossberg´s hateful stare. But they relented, so I shut my mouth. I lost a few fights, and won a few others. But when Mossberg challenged me, it was quite surreal. I had never seen someone so big being so dumb."
"Mossberg is not that big."
"It is for me." She glared again.
"For you, even Serah is big." He chided.
At that, she hit him in the chest. Hard. Nyx rubbed his offended part, but Lightning´s glare forced him to remain silent.
"Well, Mossberg, in spite of almost doubling my size, is slow, very slow, and doesn´t know how to hit, and maybe, his height played for the worst against someone as short as me; whatever it was, he just couldn´t land a simple hit. Obviously, I won by far. And obviously, he was mad, very, very mad. The next fights, he tried to fight me one against two. A few of the guys were against it, but Barret shushed them, saying that, being the star I was, he was sure I could manage. Clearly he meant it as sarcasm, but against all odds, I did prevail. Three times against Mossberg and another guy I ended up victorious, that´s how I learned I had a good reason for feeling fast at my homeland, that it wasn´t just me bragging. I was indeed faster than them, faster even than Barret, who refused to fight against me ever again, settling on competing with me during training."
"And what did Yaneera said? Did she ever fight you?"
"Yeah, of course she did, and sometimes she defeated me, but most of the times I won. Still, she was never a sore winner, and I actually enjoyed fighting against her. I can´t say we´re friends, but at least she treats me ok."
"So, you fought the three leaders of my group, the eldest ones, Mossberg, Barret and Yaneera. And still won." He couldn´t deny he was impressed by the little squirt.
"Not always. Besides, Mossberg is not a leader, he´s just dumb. And a bully."
"A dumb head and a bully who is a negative leader capable to move people around. Not a combination to play with."
She sighed at his words. "Yeah, I learned that the hard way."
"So, what happened?"
"Mossberg tried next to fight me three against one. This time Yaneera protested, saying he was being too abusive, and that, if he proceeded, he would be thrown out of the games. I fought against him and another guy then, not three as he had asked. But the next morning, right before the training started, he ambushed me with two of his goons, and we fought. But it was different. During the fight with the others, we always held our strength, trying not to hurt each other, and whenever any of us punched too hard, or in forbidden places, like the face because we knew you would find out, the others held them back. It was a game, a training of some sorts, not a real fight. But when Mossberg ambushed me, he and his lackeys were quite intent on hurting me. So I just defended myself. I won, though I earned a few bruises and an injured wrist."
"Why didn´t you say anything?"
"It was the first day, I thought that, by delivering his ass onto him, he would leave me alone."
"But he didn´t."
"No, he didn´t. Next week, almost every day he appeared with two more guys, and we fought, and fortunately, I always won. But while Mossberg always appeared with new, fresh guys, I had started collecting injuries, like a twisted wrist, an injured ankle and a couple of sore ribs, their combination making me slower, weaker."
"And that being the reason why you couldn´t compete with Barret anymore during the class, right? And here I thought you had matured and handed him his selfish pride."
"Nope, it´s fun to tease Barret´s pride. But my body was already aching all over. That´s when Libertus taught me your style, taking me to see your training. You were amazing, and I knew I had to learn how to fight like you, if I wanted to survive."
He pretended his ego wasn´t inflated by her comment, trying his hardest to focus on her tale. "And again, I should ask, why didn´t you tell anyone?"
She shrugged, this time with a pang of shame for being so stupid and blind. "Mossberg always teased me calling me a crying baby, a little girl. No matter how hard I kicked him, he always said those words. And I… I´ve been struggling so much for people to see me more than just a little girl…"
"That you felt that, if you let him win and tell someone about his abuse, he´ll erase all your effort, right? You were very dumb."
"I know that now. But it was important for me then, I didn´t know what his true intentions were."
Nyx sighed. He could relate to that. "Did any of the others notice this?"
"They asked me why I had stopped going to practice with them, but I just waved them off, and they attributed it to my 'sparky attitude'." She made quoting signs with her fingers. "Evidently, they had already heard you calling me Sparks."
"So that´s the reason why you hate the name."
"I don´t hate it, I just… yeah, I hate it." She gave him a small smile. Nyx started to notice he liked it whenever she smiled.
"You have to admit, though, more than one of us think the name fits you."
She smirked, but refused to comment.
Well, it wasn´t a smile per se, but Nyx still felt proud of himself. "And then?"
"And then… Mossberg went against me with four blocks. I barely managed to win, but during the fight something changed. Mossberg seemed desperate about something, trying his hardest to land a hit on my body, he even managed to grab one of my boobs, and the moment he touched me, his eyes started to look differently at me, a sort of crazy glare. It chilled me to the bone. At the moment, I didn´t understand why, I just felt… dirty, by the way he had touched my boobs, the way he had looked at them. Now I know what changed. Fortunately, his goonies were already gone, and the moment he noticed this, he left too. That´s when I went for you at the brewery. I didn´t know how, I just knew I needed your help more than ever, I had to get a promise out of you, that´s why I resorted to everything. His eyes scared me, it was all I could see in my head while I waited for you to come and meet me. I knew next time wouldn´t be that easy. I´m sorry… for lying to you."
For a couple of seconds, Nyx stood silent, mulling over her words, and Lightning felt a pang of guilt, awaiting his retaliation.
"But… you don´t have boobs."
"Oh my dear Etro!" She yelled, throwing her healthy hand up in the air. "After all I´ve said, you´re gonna comment abut that!? Besides, for your information, I do I have boobs!"
He was going to comment further, but fortunately he noticed how insensitive he had been, and knew they were reaching sensitive topics, so he clamped his mouth shut with his hand. He didn´t want to hurt her. At his silence, she went on.
"But the next day, the morning when you were going to fulfill your promise, Mossberg went against me once more, with three new, taller guys on the road with him, and in this fight, he got even more violent, and more… touchy; it was then when they pulled my arm out of its socket. I had never hurt that much on a fight, I remember I screamed so hard, my throat ached for many hours. But he made the mistake to… rub… or… I don´t know the word for it… but while we were fighting, he pressed his body hard, desperate, against my back, while his hands roamed my chest; at the time it just irked me, thinking he was trying to immobilize me, but it allowed me to have better access to him, so in spite of my injury, I was glad his mistake gave me the chance to kick his butt to the ground. Even on the floor and defeated, his eyes were still those of a madman, but at the time my arm was already throbbing, so I didn´t pay much attention to him. They ran again, collecting their defeated leader. I was glad, but I was more seriously injured. And felt even more scared of them. The rest, you already know."
They both remained silent for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Lightning feeling the relief it brought to her to finally confess. Instead, Nyx felt the weight of her confession, and his own part in it. Which was, to his standards, a lot.
He finally broke the silence "I´m sorry, Light."
"What for? It wasn´t your fault."
"Yeah, I think it was." He sighed
She remained silent for a moment, but thought his words better. "Yeah, I think so too." She finally answered.
He looked up at her, hurt by her words, by how easily she had transmitted guilt to him. But the mischief behind her crystal blue eyes made his heart skip a beat.
"But I think that, all in all, you´re a good man, Nyx Ulric. Stupid, immature, childish and a bit ridiculous, but nonetheless a good man."
He smiled, a little bit grateful. A little bit cocky. "Do you like me now?"
"Don´t push it, moron."
He chuckled at her and leaned on the sofa. They fell silent once more, though this time, the silence in between them felt more like a link than a wall. After a while, Nyx rose from his comfortable spot.
"Are you set, then?"
She looked at him, startled at his sudden change of mood, and then her mind clicked. He must be starving. Lightning sighed. She had accused him of being a child. Now she was the one who needed to grow up. "Yes, yes, I´ve told you like a thousand times, I´m all set, you can go have something to eat."
"You´ve just said it three times, not a thousand."
"It´s still more than one."
"Are you always such a drama queen? A thousand is not a way of saying more than one."
"I´m a teenager, I say whatever I want to say. And I´m not a drama queen. You are."
He was going to retaliate, but thought against it the moment his stomach made gurgling sounds.
"Can I help you with something else?" He approached her to fix her pillow, but she slapped his hand.
"I said I´m alright, or as good as I can be with being here and in display like a freaking monkey."
Nyx followed her gaze and turned around to see through the window of her hospital room, where he could easily see the hallway, nurses and doctors walking by their room.
"Yeah, I hear you. But if it makes you feel better, I would surely pay anything to come and see the tricks you learn, hey!" She threw him her pillow, which he caught easily. "I´m just joking, Sparks! You should relax!"
"One of the things I´ve learned about you today, is that you don´t keep your promises. You promised me you wouldn´t call me like that."
"Oh! Right! I´m sorry! It´s just, it´s stuck on me, I´m gonna need more than a day to get used to your name, instead of 'Sparks'. You can´t blame me, though, it´s a very good name."
"It´s a dog´s name."
"I insist, it's a very good name; I might as well buy a pretty dog and name her after you."
She threw him her already empty glass of water, which he caught swiftly.
"Or I might buy it for you. You sure need a way to vent."
"Just get out and leave me alone. You have to go to eat, don´t you?"
He looked intently at her, all childishness forgotten. "I´m not feeling ok by leaving you here all by yourself."
Her eyes softened a tad at his declaration. "Don´t worry. Amodar is about to arrive. Besides, I´m sure you get grumpy whenever you´re hungry. And I´m not in the mood of tolerating a grumpy you. Or tolerate you at all."
He rolled his eyes. "Well then, I´ll take my leave, are you sure you don´t want me to sneak some food for you? That thing they brought you didn´t look quite tasty. Even the smell was nasty."
She thought for a moment, then a smile, one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen, illuminated her face for a moment.
"If you´re going to be such a nuisance about it, then yeah, I can forgive you for being an ass, and even forgive you the moniker thing if you bring me here a double ice cream with cranberries and a cherry top with tons of honey and chocolate, from the Bodhum House ice cream shop."
"But that´s on the other part of the city! And it´s a long way on foot! Not to mention they´re infamous for being so expensive!"
She rested her head on her pillow, evidently satisfied by his frustration. "You have my price."
He whistled and shook his head. "You certainly have such a sweet tooth. And a very devilish side. Fine, whatever the princess wants, I´ll be back later."
As he opened the door, though, a punch straight to his face received him, so powerful that it sent him flying backwards a few meters.
"Nyx!"
He crashed against the sofa, his weight breaking it into pieces; the Kingsglaive shook his head and immediately stood up, ready for the next attack. But instead of another strike, huge arms that crushed his torso and almost broke his ribs enveloped him.
"Aaaggh! I can´t breathe!"
"Bwwaahahahaha! There you are! There you are! Our very own hero!"
"A-Amodar?"
Nyx risked himself and opened one eye to look down at the man crushing him in the most powerful bear hug he had ever received in his life.
"P-please… my ribs!"
The huge man laughed even harder and finally let the younger man go. Said man collapsed on the floor, coughing, while he felt the assistance of the small pinkette and his best friend Libertus, helping him to get up. A best friend who, by the way, had not been rushing to his help when he was attacked. The traitor.
"Hahaha! I´m sorry my man!" Amodar boomed at him. "After Lightning had told me how you had been an ass of an instructor, I was sooo wishing to hit you in the face! And then when I found out, by this kind young man, that you had saved her from those thugs, I just wanted soooo much to hug you, and I couldn´t decide which one I should do. In the end, I thought 'and why not do both'? So here I am! And I can die a happy man for being capable of fulfilling my wishes!"
The man laughed thunderously while Nyx finally stood up, muttering under his breath. "Which makes me utterly happy, by the way…"
Amodar clapped Nyx´s back with such strength, the man stumbled and almost fell on the floor again.
"Thank you so much for taking care of my little Rainbows and Sunshine. I know she can be quite hard to handle. I myself have a few things to go through with her." His last words were accentuated by looking pointedly at said teenager, who paled and gave a step towards Nyx, trying hard to hide herself behind the man. Without being too obvious about it, of course.
Nyx looked behind him, searching for her frame, and felt a pang of sympathy for the young lady.
But just a bit.
"Well, we shall take our leave, then, to let you both communicate properly." He gave a sideways step, uncovering the hiding pinkette, who glared at the traitorous man. Said man only smirked at her and waved his hand in goodbye, then looked at Libertus, prompting him to follow, but the taller man ignored him; instead, he took a glance at Amodar, who understood the unspoken request and nodded lightly, his eyes fixed hard over the tiny frame, his arms crossed over his chest, in a very unnerving posture. Lightning gulped even more, wishing with all her heart she could get smaller, and jumped lightly when Libertus took her hand and pulled her towards the bed. The pinkette let him do so, her mind still going through all the possible (and painful) types of punishment she could be subjected to, while the man helped her get on the bed, fixed her pillow and tucked her in, with such sweetness and care, she almost expected him to kiss her on the forehead.
Fortunately, he didn´t do that last, much-too-awkward part.
Instead, he dedicated her a bright smile, trying to be reassuring, and ruffled her pink hair; this time Lightning smiled at the gesture. She was starting to like the man.
"How are you holding up, Sparks?"
It was funny how the name didn´t bother her as much as whenever it was Nyx the one saying it.
"I think I´m better now, thanks to you, sensei, and thank you for helping me out."
He smiled at her, happy to know she was doing better. "Don´t mention it, it's the least I can do for my favorite girl of the class. Just don´t mention it to the others."
Lightning´s smile grew wider. Was she really her favorite?
Suddenly, Libertus opened his arms wide. "Can I give you a hug?"
She frowned a bit, her smile disappearing completely. "I don´t like hugs."
"I know, but when I saw you on the floor, I thought you were going to die. I need a hug to know you´re not a fragment of my imagination, and that you´re alright."
Her frown deepened at his explanation, not buying it for even a bit. She took a glance behind the big man, and found Nyx snickering at her. The pinkette glared daggers at the man, but her efforts were fruitless, since he had walked out of the room, so full of himself.
"I´m sorry, sensei." She turned her attention to the remaining Kingsglaive. "Please understand I don´t like hugs."
Libertus, instead of feeling hurt, ruffled her hair some more, accepting her position and respecting it.
"Don´t worry, Sparks. I get it. I just wanted you to know I might not be a hero, but I´m there for you too, in case you need at least a hug."
She nodded gratefully, but somewhat uncomfortable. Was he referring to Nyx? Or had Crowe opened her mouth? The latter seemed the least plausible. Then…?
"Before I go, just promise me one thing, young lady: no more chasing and fighting big guys."
"I´m gonna be a Kingsglaive, sensei, I really can´t promise you that."
"Oh, right. Well, promise me then you´re gonna get stronger, so that your ass won´t be delivered to you that easily."
She smirked. "Well, I can promise you that much."
He winked at her then went after his best friend.
When they left the room, the atmosphere suddenly felt very, very heavy, and Lightning felt she couldn´t look up to see her Godfather in the eye, so she fixed her eyes on her ankle, right on the exact spot where Nyx had placed his hand, wishing to draw some bravery from the memory of the strong fist upon her skin. A ruffled sound told him Amodar had approached, and, to her surprise, he sat right next to her, on her bed.
"Scoot."
"Amodar? What…?"
"I said, scoot. Or are you going to disobey that order too?"
Lightning felt ashamed and finally complied, allowing space for the huge man who – tried – to fit on her bed. Broad and strong arms enveloped her whole, crushing her against his round belly, her ear pressed against a powerful heartbeat, their position making her feel as tiny as never before, while huge palms massaged her back and left arm, and she felt his chest rumble with his baritone voice the moment he spoke up.
"I wish you were still so small I could carry you with one single arm, so that I wouldn´t let any one hurt you. Remember that time when a dog barked at you, then you ran at me and I carried you with one arm, and we both barked at the dog, making it run away?"
Lightning giggled at the memory but just a bit, her apprehension still at its tops.
When she didn't comment, Amodar kept on his ministrations, and sighed heavily.
"Look, Light, I know I´m not your dad, but for all that is dear to me, I would love to be. So please, believe me I say it with all my heart when I say this to you: what happened in the alley wasn´t your fault."
Her heart skipped a bit at his words, and she gulped. "I know, Amodar. You don´t have to say it."
"I mean it, Light. I really do. I love you so much, little girl. I swear it wasn´t your fault."
Her chest felt heavy this time, like something hard was pressing against it, and she felt like chocking, so her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke.
"I know."
"It wasn´t your fault, Light. Don´t be ashamed. Your parents adored you, as Serah does. As I do."
Her eyes prickled, tears threatening to fall, and her hands grasped his clothes tightly, fighting for control. And losing it miserably.
"I…"
"It wasn´t your fault, baby girl."
His last, shushed words had made the trick. Lightning felt something crushing inside her, and she cried, for the second time in less than a week, cried for everything that had happened, for what almost happened. And for what she knew what was going to happen.
She allowed herself to cry all her fear, pain and sorrow away, until she felt emptied and spent. Because at that moment, she promised herself this was the last time Claire Farron would cry. Lightning Farron would never cry like a teenager. Ever again.
oooOOOOOooooooooOOOOOooooo
A/N: Allow me first to thank Andy Farron for being my fantastic beta. You rock, girl!
Tch… no matter how much I cut this chapter, it still kept growing longer and longer! Well, sorry for this kinda filler chapter, but it at least allowed us to tie some loose ends and to see what finally happened. Hope you liked it! Also, hope Lightning didn´t feel too OOC, just take in consideration she´s still a teen in here, not the grown woman we met, and that we´re few months after their parent´s demise (okay, a year is only 12 months, right?) which means her emotions are still a mess, plus, no matter how strong she gets to be. As a teenager, an experience like almost-rape must´ve shaken her to the very core. Even someone as strong willed as her. But this time, she doesn´t have to face it alone. Hope you still like the story.
Before I forget, Final Fantasy characters don´t belong to me, but to Square Enix