X. Conviction

The house was deathly quiet save for the sound of running water – and Lightning knew that Caius had, in fact, returned as promised. She had to admit that she was a bit surprised, but not unpleasantly so; as long as he remained where he could be watched over and so long as half of Etro's heart beat in her chest, he couldn't do much of anything in the way of harming the timeline. And soon he wouldn't be too inclined to do anything to harm her or the people around her, either. She knocked on the bathroom door briefly to get his attention before speaking: "Where's the gunblade?"

"My room," he called back, "Yeul is asleep."

She grunted in satisfaction at that, and acknowledged his warning with silence. Upon peeking into his room, she confirmed what she'd been told: the seeress was fast asleep on the mat Caius seemingly-happily called a bed. Lightning dared not enter, though; Yeul deserved all the sleep she could get.

She cast a glance over the space briefly – the kitchen, the alcove, the main living space. With a bit of furnishing it would surely feel smaller than it did now, and… Maybe Serah was right and she should consider keeping the house. It was practically home now; she'd lived in it for a month. And how long before it was easier to just buy it than continue paying rent? At the very least, somewhere to sit other than the floor would be nice.

Some time was spent pacing in the emptiness before she found herself seated against the wall with one of the few books that had been salvaged with the rest of her belongings. The rest that she recalled owning either weren't collected by PSICOM after she hopped on the Purge train (and thus, did not survive Eden's fall) or were lying around in the NORA house, one of the two. She didn't really care which one it was; toward the end, she scarcely found time to read. This particular novel she didn't even know she owned – and its pages were yellowed with age and apparently she'd never finished it because a page toward the middle of the first half was still folded over as if she at some point meant to pick it up again. But honestly, it was better just to start over at this point.

Lightning made it a chapter (well, a prologue and a chapter; she skipped the foreword and didn't count prologues as chapters) into the book before Caius emerged from the bathroom fully dressed in his only change of clothes, pulling the hem of his black shirt down a bit. He cast a curious glance at Lightning and she held the cover of the book up in response, although that only earned a blank look from the violet-eyed man before her. Caius paused and slipped into his room, emerging only seconds later with Organyx in hand. In the instant that both of their hands rested on the weapon, Lightning couldn't fight the impulse to ask, flashing him the cover of the book once more: "Do you know what this says?"

"No," he admitted after a moment. "Our alphabets are very different, Lightning."

Well, yeah, she knew that, at least judging from what she could discern from the faded remnants of Pulsian civilization during her brief stint on the planet before Cocoon's fall. "You went seven hundred years after the fall of Cocoon and never learned our alphabet?"

"Yes. Easily." He was starting to sound annoyed, and Lightning backed down; if he wanted to live his life illiterate then that was just fine. He was practically a recluse anyway.

Her blue eyes followed him as he stepped away before disappearing into his room and her eyes traveled down to the heavy gunblade left in her hands. In the brief few battles she'd used it, she found it heavy enough to be a detriment – but Caius wielded it like it was nothing. With a flick of her wrist, she expanded the weapon – mostly. It seemed that yes, she would need to have Maqui give it a look; she forced the blade the rest of the way open with a scowl, looking it over. It was clear that Caius abused the thing, with the way some of the joints were either too loose to hold or jammed or some strange combination of the two that kept it from opening and staying open all the way, and she didn't want to teach Caius how to be deadly with a new weapon, but all of the ratty booklets on gunblade care in the world wouldn't do any good if he wasn't willing to learn Cocoon's alphabet, and those only applied to the upkeep of the things, not how to avoid damaging them altogether. For such useful weapons, they had a lot of moving parts and were fragile as hell in the wrong hands.

When the time came to depart and tackle their Focus – with the way Etro nudged her in the right direction occasionally, Lightning assumed that she would tell them when all preliminary objectives had been cleared – they would not have the luxury of taking broken things to Maqui for quick repair jobs. It would be unlikely that they'd have the things necessary to make repairs if they needed to.

So – where did that leave her?

She collapsed the Organyx once more before, briefly, returning to her book. The light that made it through the alcove's window faded fast, however, and eventually she retreated into her room.

Predictably, Lightning kept Organyx with her the next day, although she'd made an unnecessarily big point of taking it with her down to New Bodhum when she wound up departing shortly before Caius and Yeul did. They followed the path that Caius usually took and wound up over by the Winding Way, a crystallized Cocoon visible on the horizon and a useless Time Gate in the crater below. He spoke to her only when she spoke to him first for a change, instead tracing out patterns on the log that they were seated on with his fingertips. Yeul briefly followed the paths with her eyes, captivated for precious few moments while she enjoyed her breakfast – the usual fruit that she had quickly come to love after much initial frustration in her attempts to deal with the thick skin. After that, her gaze was fixed on Cocoon for a long time and Caius did not ask what troubled her, although something surely did.

She requested to wander off on her own when they were finished and he allowed it; for a change, Yeul respectfully bowed her head to him before retreating into the trees, and she couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes before she returned, carrying more of the roughly orange-sized fruit (maximum fruitage achieved through the use of the top ruffle of her skirt as a makeshift basket of sorts). Caius gave her a slight smile and took one when offered; Yeul helped herself to one as well and set the third one aside. Making it through the thick skin by then was an easy feat for him, and he helped Yeul with hers after he peeled back the surface of his and set it aside, but paused when he heard faint footsteps.

He handed the fruit back to Yeul; one of his hands instinctively went to where the hilt of his sword would have been, had it been with him rather than stuck in the stone of Valhalla. Instead, he let loose a pearl of white energy in the direction of the sound with a flick of his wrist and paused.

Metal scraping against metal, but not fast enough if the soft, slightly pained, masculine-sounding 'oomph' was anything to go by.

Caius cast a glance over his shoulder, a familiar dark-haired man approaching, swords only drawn for a moment before he returned the smaller one to its rightful place within the larger one, and both of them to their rightful place on his back. Violet eyes narrowed and Caius cast another Ruin spell, which served as a far less effective method of warning when Noel expected them and now knew that they weren't as anywhere near as bad as what Caius could generally muster. The younger man called out to him – something about wanting to talk but hell if Caius cared – and in response, the Guardian stood, turned to face him, and let off another pearl of energy that this time exploded when it drew near to its target, knocking Noel back several feet. Yeul placed a hand on his arm as he raised it to cast again – something nastier if Noel didn't back off, and he reconsidered as he watched Noel pull himself back to his feet and brush himself off. There were no visible injuries, for better or for worse, but to be fair if Caius had been trying to hurt him, he would have already.

Caius's first instinct was to tell Noel to go away (except not as nicely as just 'go away'), but he fought it given that there was a child present and instead asked: "What do you want?" He did his best to keep his voice even and his gaze cold, and his arms dropped to his sides and his hands balled into fists.

"To talk. No more, no less." Noel made a point to keep his hands where Caius could see them – and from the cautious way he approached his former mentor, the Guardian figured that he was doing his best not to make any sudden movements either.

Noel's gaze flickered between him and Yeul briefly and the air between them was so thick with tension that one could probably cut it with a knife, but after a few moments Caius backed down and once again took a seat beside the blue-haired girl and it was dispelled as quickly as it had formed. Noel forced a tight-lipped smile to his features as he took a seat on a rock not far from Caius and Yeul; Caius scowled in response and started to wonder if Noel had anything to say that was worth his time. He was tempted to press him, 'If you truly have something to say then go ahead,' but held his tongue.

But the hunter seemed intent to choose his words carefully; he was silent long enough for Caius's steady gaze to leave him and for both the Guardian and the seeress to return to their fruit, both apparently content to keep their food for themselves – not that the hunter faulted them for it in any way. When Noel finally broke the silence, it was first with a thoughtful hum, and then, "So, uh, you're a l'Cie?"

Caius glanced at Noel and gave a stiff nod of confirmation. "I don't need you to persuade me to complete my Focus, Noel."

"Not here for that," Noel replied, briefly raising his hands defensively. Caius snorted in response – and the dark-haired man got the distinct feeling that this would be a lot more difficult than he originally anticipated. He cupped his jaw for a moment, letting the gears spin – and it was likely around that moment that he realized that he didn't actually know that much about his old mentor, even after he'd spent nearly half of his life under Caius's expert tutelage. "I just. Um…" The fact that Caius's violet eyes were fixed on him all the while didn't really help him think; beneath that icy stare, words crumbed away. "So, how've you been?"

Caius let out a somewhat unimpressed 'hmph,' and if Noel's gaze weren't fixed on the Guardian's visage, scouring the man for any hint of an emotion or what was going on inside his skull, then he would never have noticed the slight quirk of his eyebrow before he replied, "I've seen better days." The Guardian's gaze shifted briefly to Yeul, whom scooted a bit closer to him and regarded his former apprentice with a sort of quiet, cautious curiosity. He gave a moment's pause – just long enough for it to become clear that she had no intention of speaking up herself, before turning his attention once more to their guest. "And you?"

Noel could tell that he wasn't actually curious – or if he was, he hid it well enough that Noel couldn't tell. "I've been—" he swallowed in an attempt to bring moisture to his throat—"I've been good; thanks. Everyone's pretty lively in town, and – well, you know, you ought to visit sometime, actually."

Caius both metaphorically and literally turned his nose up at the invitation. "Noel. You know full well why I can't do that."

"Yeah, I do. But I mean, there are people here; there's barely a reason to live like a recluse." He had to at least make an attempt to get through to him, for Lightning's sake…

Yeul muttered something about how the seeress must live away from people so that her powers would not be exploited, casting her gaze to the side – she didn't seem particularly happy about it, but if that was the way things had to be, then...

Caius seemed satisfied that she could recall it so precisely; Noel only frowned and continued: "These people – they're good. They don't want to know the future or mess with time or hurt either of you; they want to live their lives. Everyone at the NORA house knows of you two already."

Yes, they did, didn't they. His eyebrows lowered a bit, and Noel stumbled over his next words; he briefly wished Caius were easier to read. Other than subtle nuances (that, had he not been his apprentice at one time, he wouldn't have noticed) the Guardian gave away nothing of what went on inside that head of his. And knowing that Caius (once? Still?) planned to destroy everything just to 'save' Yeul, it didn't do much to make Noel comfortable around the taller man. He swallowed, shuffling in his seat a bit and looking away, cupping his chin with one hand as he continued: "Lightning talks about you sometimes, and – well, they're kind of afraid of you."

The Guardian smirked, although it was fleeting. Good. "Fear breeds hate. I am used to it, and they have no reason to like me." Caius had no reason to like or trust them, either, apart from Noel's word – not that he didn't trust the dark-haired man, but he could be awfully naïve…

"But the thing is, they don't have a reason to hate you, either, Caius." Noel slowly rose to his feet, gesturing toward New Bodhum. "Everything that Lightning's said about you, as far as I know, is absolutely correct—" Although Noel refrained from naming those things with Yeul present; if she needed to know, chances are she did already—"But thing is, you've done some bad things, sure, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. I'm proof of that. You took me under your wing 'cause I wanted to get stronger. You had plenty of chances to kill me while Serah and I were traveling through time, and you didn't. And—"

At that, Caius rose, eyes narrowed. "That's enough," he said, voice firm.

But Noel continued on: "Yeul is proof of that. You've protected her – them – for centuries, Caius."

"Because I must." The real statements were apparent from his tone alone: 'Because I am her Guardian. Because Yeul is all that matters. Because she deserves better.'

"Because you have a good heart," Noel insisted, taking a step forward and meeting his gaze levelly. "Because you're her Guardian, sure, but because you have a good heart, too. You care about her Caius; I've seen it and—"

"Enough," Caius said, his voice finally rising. He seized the front of Noel's shirt, pulling the now-distressed blue-eyed man forward a bit. "I haven't the time for your lectures. None of this is new – and none of it bears repeating." May as well have said, 'Silly Noel, how dare you imply I'm a good person. Look at me, I wear all black and plan(ned?) to destroy everything' instead. Noel gritted his teeth in response. "So if you have something more to say—" At that, Caius shoved Noel backward, sending him stumbling toward the cliff's edge—"do it with your swords."

The Guardian raised a hand to cast a spell – any spell – but something inside of him held him back and he cursed quietly. Then, going along with it, he lashed out physically – his moment's pause, however, had given Noel enough time to draw his swords and block Caius's punch. The Guardian pulled back before giving Noel a swift kick in the side, sending him flying (briefly) sideways, away from the cliff's edge. He was only dimly aware that Yeul was watching, wide-eyed with her hands covering her mouth as if she'd never seen Caius get violent before, as if she hadn't seen Valhalla in her visions or known what feats of cruelty her immortal Guardian was capable of. Perhaps the man he was in her era had been known to show mercy, had had more patience – but he was older than him by centuries and she knew it. Even in the face of Caius's fury, Noel refused to go on the offensive, merely using his swords as a shield and digging his feet into the ground to keep himself from being forced backwards too far – impressive, considering Caius's superhuman strength and magical abilities.

"Don't have much to say now, do you?" he growled. Noel regarded him with silent defiance.

Perhaps it was strange, but Noel could tell a lot more about Caius when he was fighting rather than when he was speaking. Sure, he spoke prettily enough and his brand of charisma was such that if he wanted to manipulate people to do his bidding, he probably could – but there was always a way to hide with words. There was always a way to sugarcoat things, through precise diction and meticulous syntax – but when he lashed out, everything came bubbling to the surface. He hit hard – harder than he had during their duel before Caius left him and Yeul alone in the Dying World, harder than his past incarnation in 200AF Oerba had, with that slow-burning anger and dedication to duty; harder than their brief fight in the Void Beyond after he and Serah had gotten separated and he wished to be rid of a thorn in his side. There was something that ran deep, something he felt the desperate need to cover, be it through schemes or aggression or cold, hard silence.

Hurt?

No, deeper. Noel couldn't place his finger on it exactly, not while he was doing his best to weather the storm and definitely not after Caius caught him off guard and his fist collided with the side of his face. The hunter suppressed his building anger only because he knew it wouldn't do any good, and when Caius raised his hand to attempt to cast a spell again – if he could – Yeul finally spoke.

"Please stop—!"

And everything froze. And everything from the past two minutes or so seemed immediately dropped, forgotten. Caius relaxed and stepped away, immediately honoring the child's wishes despite the burning anger behind his eyes and the way his teeth were bared in a snarl, and Noel lowered his swords before putting them away. After making sure they were fixed securely in place on his back, he rubbed the side of his face – no blood, but he'd surely have a bruise, possibly a nasty black eye. He looked sadly toward Yeul before bowing his head respectfully. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Yeul. If he's not willing to listen, I'll just go. But you know – invitation's still open. We'd love to have you two." And he started away.

She smiled a bit and when Caius kneeled before her in similar apology, she patted his head.

Yeul turned her gaze to her Guardian with a slight frown. Her hand briefly stroked his soft, thick hair for a few moments more before she let it trail down, behind his ear, before eventually coming to rest on the side of his face. She brought her free hand up to cup the other side and held his head in her hands. It didn't take long for him to look up at her as she wished, although he deliberately cast his gaze to the side after a few moments.

"Caius," she began, getting his attention long enough for emeralds to lock with amethysts and rendering his efforts to hide the emotions churning just below the surface through lack of eye contact for naught. Even if no one else did, Yeul found it a simple matter to read Caius, but then she – and this extended to all her incarnations since he had become a Guardian centuries ago – had been practically raised by him. "If it counts for anything, I believe you are good, as well."

His lips parted a bit, as if to speak – as if to object – but whatever words those had been died on his lips quickly.

He tried not to sound irritated, or disappointed – and it was obvious that it took some effort. "Thank you, Yeul."

A/N: Shout out to Auxiliums and IridiumRing92 for my very first reviews on this thing! Y'all are great and I appreciate the kind words!

It's too late at night for me to come up with anything particularly witty to say about this, bleh. Need to update when my humor is at its peak and not fried from Sushi Cat and trying to find the perfect songs to listen to while writing. Also worth noting is that as of tonight with the chapter I just finished writing (not this one obviously; I'm working like fifteen ahead by now), this fic is twice as long as anything I've ever written before. I'm super proud!