I must apologize for the horribly long wait I have put all of the people interested in this story through. But, I am back with chapter 10, and 11 is in the works! Keep reading!
Riku whistled as he went up to Yen Sid's tower. Sora was busy with college stuff. Miraculously, he had raised his grades up to satisfactory for a bunch of the colleges that he wanted to get into, and he had also recently applied for the Guardian Academy in Palumpolum. They sent him back a letter that basically said, 'if you pass the Mark of Mastery Exam, you're in'. The fact that he was the son of the creator of the Investigation Bureau in his region was also a big plus on his resume. Riku couldn't help but feel jealous. Even when Riku tried advertising all his own good qualities, people only had to take a look at Sora's name and they wanted him.
Yen Sid had canceled the training for that day because Sora couldn't come, but Riku figured he would go up to the tower anyway to say hello. But mostly, he wanted to try and talk to Fauna. Yen Sid had given Flora a vacation, and that meant that she would not be hovering over her sister. Riku knew that it was probably morally unacceptable to ask a woman of questionable sanity about the source of her mental problem. But he felt like he had to know.
He took a deep breath, and knocked on the door, and waited. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Yen Sid looked down at Riku with suspicion.
"What are you doing here, boy?" he boomed, and Riku shrugged. "I just wanted to see how Fauna was doing." He tried, but he knew that Yen Sid did not believe him. "You be careful with her. She is as fragile as the thinnest piece of glass right now." Then, Yen Sid led him in, and up to Fauna's room, where she was sitting at the window, humming. She was holding a pink piece of material.
When she noticed that Riku had come into the room, she set the pink piece of material down beside the window, and then looked back at Riku with a blank stare.
"What do you want?" She said quietly, and Riku took a big sigh, indicating Yen Sid's back yard. "Do you want to talk outside, in the sun?" Riku tried, but Fauna shook her head. "No. I want to stay in here. I want some tea and a biscuit. And I want you to have some too." She said curtly, and Riku nodded, trudging back out of the room. He went into the kitchen, and made some tea, got some reasonably alright looking cookies, and hauled the little lawn table from outside up the elevator to Fauna's room. Against her objections, he opened the blinds, and let the sunlight in. Fauna winced at the light, but after a while, it had a considerable effect on her disposition, and she managed to smile a little bit.
"What do you want to talk about, Riku?" she said serenely, and Riku tried to come up with a way to begin the conversation. "Well…" he started, and then sighed, deciding to be honest. "I want to talk about Ansem." He said finally, and Fauna's smile disappeared in seconds. "Oh." She said flatly, and looked out the window with the same blank expression as before.
"What exactly is it that you want to know?" she asked quietly, and Riku scratched the back of his head.
"I want to know about what you said to me last time we… talked. I didn't understand. What's the story behind that?" He tried, and Fauna looked down at her hands, and wiped tears out of her eyes. Riku suddenly felt very bad about asking Fauna all this stuff. "You know, you don't have to say anything if you're too uncomfortable" Riku tried awkwardly, but Fauna waved him off.
"No, this needs to be said." Then, she sighed, and began.
"I married Xehanort when I was 25 years old, a year after we were married I had my first son, who we also named Xehanort, after his father. My husband was very proud of his son. He used to call him 'junior', if you could imagine a time like that… but, anyway, he was a very intelligent, lovely boy. He was going to get married after high school, but then he disappeared for a while; he was in a science school in Gehstalia, this was years before the reign of Kefka." Riku nodded at this, and pursed his lips. He hoped it looked like he knew what Fauna was talking about.
"Junior and his father did not get along, and when he left for college, they were not on speaking terms. But, his father was able to get him to come back, and after four years of college in Gehstalia, he went to the college in the Land of Departure for four years. While he was going to school there, Ansem spotted him, and offered him a post as an intern scientist at his laboratory in Radiant Garden. Eventually, Ansem trusted him enough to make him into his apprentice, and then into his assistant, and we were all very happy because our son was set for life." She explained, and Riku leaned in closer to her, and noticed that she was wringing her skirt in her fingers.
"Long before my son became Ansem's assistant, my husband took in a young man named Ventus, and then another one who was called Vanitas. I didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was doing research with them. I didn't like it. I thought that at the time he was just trying to help them, because they were both in poor family conditions. But, I only found out much later that he had been experimenting on them. Taking in those children ended our marriage, especially the second boy. He scared me. He was so angry, and mean. He drove the first one, Ventus, out. Xehanort's friend at the time, Master Eraqus, had to take Ventus in. Both of the boys were only nine when the trouble with Master Eraqus began, but Vanitas looked like he was 15. I didn't like it; it was just so… so strange. They'd done something to him to make him look that way." Fauna sighed, took a deep breath, and then continued. "But that is off the point. Ansem never liked my husband. I think he took an 'interest' in my son to get revenge on my husband- for what, I don't know. He made my son into a monster. The son that I had before wouldn't have been involved in the Hollow Bastion Massacre. My son wouldn't have experimented on those innocent townspeople and then let them loose as monsters on the city… Ansem had morphed him into a beast himself. After the Hollow Bastion Massacre, I was crushed. That day, I disowned my son in my heart." She croaked, and Riku shuffled his feet uncomfortably, but leaned forward in anticipation to hear the rest of the story.
"A short while after the Hollow Bastion Massacre, my son returned to me. But he was different. He looked like a skeleton, his eyes burned with a strange desire that I just couldn't grasp. It was terrible to look at him." Fauna whispered. "Then, he started asking me for money. He wanted me to give him money so that he could perform more experiments. I told him to go to his father, but he said that he already had, and that he'd made him angry. My son said that he needed to finish what Ansem started, and what his father had started. I said no. I told him to leave, and he got angry at me." she said with a shaky voice, dabbing at her eyes every few seconds. "Thankfully, Yen Sid had just come to visit me. When my son… attacked me… Yen Sid scared him off."
"A while after that, my sisters and I left for Yen Sid's tower. We were appalled at the way our town was changing- it seemed as if the sky turned darker after Maleficent took over. But, I never heard from my son again, after that day. I still don't know what's happened to him." She murmured, and her voice trailed off into silent crying, as Riku patted her on the shoulder.
"I'm really sorry that that happened." Riku said quietly, and as he did, something else came into his mind. "You were talking about a boy, Ventus" he added, and Fauna looked up with tear stained cheeks, and nodded in confusion. "Yes? What about him?" she commented, and Riku's heart began to beat faster as he tried to formulate his question. "Well… you said that your husband was… experimenting on him?"
Fauna nodded, and thought back on it. "Yes… it was something to do with the 'light and dark' thing that he was studying."
"Where did the boy Vanitas come into the picture?" Riku asked, and Fauna chuckled sadly.
"Ah, yes. The 'masked boy'. I don't know the full extent of it, my husband never told me, but he alluded to the fact that the boy Vanitas was the opposite counterpart of Ventus- like they were a 'team' of sorts. I really don't know much else. You'd have to ask the boy yourself." She sighed, and Riku gaped a little.
"Maybe I will." he whispered, and looked out the window in deep thought.
"I doubt he'll tell you anything. Not after being involved with the people that he was. Not after going through what he did."
Riku sighed, and then tried to smile. He took a deep breath, and then took a sip of tea. Fauna seemed pleased, and she began to drink her tea, too. Riku noticed her shaking hands as she set her tea back down in its saucer, and felt really terrible about what he'd asked her.
"I'm sorry." he said again, guilt creeping in at him, but Fauna waved him off. "It's alright. I feel stronger now. I just stood up to my husband. He can't keep me quiet any longer." She added happily, and then sat patiently as Riku finished his tea and biscuit. "Thank you for everything." Riku mumbled, standing up slowly. Fauna suddenly looked a tiny bit frightened. "What are you going to do with this information?" She said nervously, and Riku shrugged. "I don't know. But I won't tell anyone who gave it to me." He added, smiling, and Fauna nodded in relief.
Then, Riku cleaned up the table, and hauled it back down the elevator and back outside into the backyard. When he got back up to Fauna's room, he asked if she wanted the blinds closed again. She sighed, and looked at him with tired eyes. "No. I think I'll leave them open for now. Let a little bit of sunlight in."
As Riku exited Fauna's room, he sighed heavily, his head spinning. Since he had nothing to do, he thought that he might as well go to Ventus. Riku chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair. Ventus. The strange boy who'd glared at him at Aerith's party. Riku wondered what he'd say to Ventus. How could he even start a conversation with a boy he hardly knew?
Riku thought for a moment, wondering what his next move would be. Ventus was living with Roxas in Twilight Town, so he'd have to go there. Riku wondered how Roxas felt about all the trouble that Axel was getting into. Riku had been so wrapped up in his own personal problems that he'd forgotten to visit everyone else. He wondered how Namine was doing. It still made him ashamed that he'd had to be the one to tell Namine that she had to relocate after Ansem had died. Riku had taken her in with his family, thinking that he was really helping Namine out, but when his mother noticed that there was no sign of Namine and Riku getting together, she told Riku that the young girl had to go. Riku wondered what his mother would think if she knew that he was gay.
Riku put that thought out of his mind, taking a deep breath. Then, he boarded the train to Twilight Town, and thought about what he'd ask Ventus. As he walked to Roxas' door, he practiced different approaches in his head. He was surprised to see Roxas just coming out from his house when he reached the door.
"Oh, hey Riku." Roxas said in a tired way, and Riku smiled at him, and couldn't help but look him up and down. Roxas was good looking, even when he looked miserable.
"What's the matter?" Riku said, and Roxas sighed, chuckling a little bit. "Well, we were thinking of 'adopting' Xion, but the idea just bothers me. I mean, she would have to be my sister. My sister and I going out- that's weird."
Riku shrugged. "It's better than letting her out on her own. Would you rather that happened?"
"Oh no way." Roxas assured, shaking his head vigorously. "I'll deal with it, it's just grating on my nerves- that and everything else that's going on. It's mostly Axel, though." He mumbled, and Riku sighed. "Oh, yeah, I can understand."
"I don't know about that." Roxas corrected curtly, and Riku was a little bit taken aback. "Wait, is there something that I'm missing here?" Riku said suspiciously, and Roxas' eyes went big. "No." He squeaked, and then turned in the opposite direction of Riku, and started to walk.
"Wait a minute!" Riku called after him, and Roxas turned back. "Where's Ventus? I wanted to talk to him." Riku explained, and Roxas raised an eyebrow. "He's not here. He's with Axel."
Riku sighed in exasperation, said thank you, and went back in the direction of the train. He'd have to go to Disney City now.
As he sat on the train, he wondered about Axel, and what was going on with him. Axel and Roxas had always been good friends. They'd probably tell each other anything. Then, Riku felt a slight pang in his chest, thinking about Sora. The boy would never like Riku the way Riku liked him. That was hard to swallow.
Riku walked up to Axel's house counting his money. He had spent more than he'd planned riding on the train. He still had a little extra left, though. When Riku looked up again, he smiled a little. Axel's parent's house was really nice looking. All the houses in Disney City looked like a picture from a postcard though. He couldn't say the same for his mother's dingy little apartment.
To Riku's surprise, a beautiful blue haired woman opened the door, looking a little bit irritated. "Hello?" she said coldly, and Riku glared at her without thinking. "What do you want?" she said flatly, and Riku sighed, and matched her tone of voice. "I want to speak to Ventus."
The woman seemed surprised at this, and nodded slowly, letting Riku inside. As he looked around Axel's living room, she seemed to loosen up. "Sorry." She apologized sheepishly. "I thought you were a reporter. They keep haranguing us."
"No, it's okay, I understand." Riku conceded, and continued to look around, until he noticed Ventus sitting on the top of the stairs, looking down at him in suspicion.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Ventus said indifferently, and Riku nodded.
Ventus looked down at him with narrowed eyes, and then shrugged. "Then come up." He mumbled as he went down the hall, and Riku followed him up the stairs in excitement. Ventus turned the corner into Axel's room, and lied down on his bed, sighing deeply. Riku had the almost unbearable urge to muss up his hair, or rub his stomach, but he felt like both of those were inappropriate for the situation, especially the latter. He rolled his eyes, a little bit embarrassed at himself. Why did the kid have to lie down in front of him, anyway? Why couldn't he just sit up like any other normal person?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ventus said, a little bit of nervousness apparent in his voice, and Riku shook his head and shrugged, going a deep shade of red. "Oh, nothing, it's nothing." Riku grumbled, waving Ventus off, and the boy narrowed his eyes at Riku again. "You just looked kind of angry, there."
"Well, there's some serious stuff that I need to ask you." Riku tried, but Ventus looked like he wasn't buying it. "And I'm trying to figure out how to ask it." He added, and Ventus grinned a little. "Well, tell me when you figure out." The boy chuckled, and lied down and closed his eyes. After a few moments, his eyes flew open, and he laughed when Riku turned away abruptly. "You were looking at me again, weren't you?" Ventus said slyly, and Riku opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of something to say to explain himself.
"I heard that you like boys." Ventus piped up, and Riku covered his face in deep embarrassment. Why was the conversation moving in this direction? He was supposed to be asking Ventus about his past.
"Yes. So has everyone else." Riku replied coldly, moving back into the macho tone that he got when he was uncomfortable. Ventus snickered, looking at Riku slyly, and Riku felt himself getting upset. If it got any worse than this, he would leave. But he had to figure things out!
Riku decided to pretend that he was in the middle of an extremely important investigation that needed a lot of stamina. Ventus was the prime suspect, and was trying to mess with Riku's mind. Sure, Riku could pack it in and quit, but that would mean giving up. Riku didn't think that people marked as Masters gave up. He stood up, took a deep breath in, and got ready to ask the question he had been waiting to ask.
"Did you just give yourself a little pep talk in your head?" Ventus mocked, and Riku felt himself rapidly deflating. It seemed like Ventus had a knack for seeing right through people. "Sorry if I burst your bubble." Ventus said, holding both his hands up, and Riku looked at him tiredly. "Do you do this to everyone who comes to visit you?" Riku mumbled sulkily, and Ventus grinned. "Yeah. What do you want to ask me?" He finished, and Riku sighed in relief.
"I want to ask you about your past." Riku said slowly, and Ventus' grin faded. "What do you want to know?" he muttered, and Riku shrugged. "Well, we can start off with Xehanort's experiments on you and your friend, Vanitas."
Within seconds of Riku saying this, Ventus sprung at him, throwing him against the wall. "Who the hell do you think you are, asking me that?" Ventus screamed, shaking Riku back and forth. "Hey, don't push me around!" Riku snapped, shoving Ventus back, and the boy fell backwards. "I forgot that you had brother issues. Lay off me." Riku sneered. For a moment, Ventus sat in a daze, but then his face contorted with rage, and he punched Riku hard in the face, sending the boy reeling back against the opposite wall. Then, he attacked Riku, hitting him as hard as he could. Riku struggled with him, not caring that the boy had started to cry. Riku's temper had gotten the better of him.
"What do you want from me?" Ventus screamed at him in hysteria. "Are you trying to blackmail me?"
"No, I just want to figure something out!" Riku roared, and Ventus tried to get a hit at him, but Riku blocked it with his left arm.
"What do you want to fucking figure out? Tell me so I can "help" you!" Ventus snarled sarcastically, and Riku noticed the door opening, and the blue haired girl and Axel ran in and ripped Ventus and Riku away from each other. "What is going on?" the girl shouted, and Ventus took one look at Riku, and broke down crying, clinging to the blue haired girl through hysteric sobs. Axel blinked down at Ventus, as if he didn't know quite what to do, and Riku rolled his eyes in extreme agitation.
"He's trying to black mail me." Ventus sobbed, and the girl's face went dark. "He knows about what Xehanort did to me."
"No I do not! That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Riku interjected, and the girl shot him a grim look. "You don't say another word." She said in a detached, controlled voice, and Riku got the shivers, realizing that he had gone into a situation that was a little over his head. He watched silently for a moment as the girl rocked Ventus back and forth, who was shaking uncontrollably, still crying heavily. When Riku had had enough, he took a deep breath out, and stalked out of the room, down the steps, and out the door.
He had the urge to kick down Axel's trashcan, but he reasoned himself against it, and continued down the road. When he wiped his face, he cursed, realizing that he was dripping blood from his mouth, and that it had gotten on his shirt.
Riku cursed again as he looked down at himself, wondering if he should go back in the house or not and ask for a napkin or something to wipe his face off with, and he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The boy wiped around and raised his hand in preparation for a strike, but he relaxed when he realized that it was just Axel.
"What do you want?" he said dejectedly, and Axel stared at him with an unintelligible expression. "What was that stuff that Ventus was saying? That you knew about his past or something? What was the stuff about Xehanort?" he whispered, as if Ventus was close by, and Riku shrugged. "I don't know. That's what I wanted to ask him about."
"Tell me what to ask." Axel cut in suddenly, and Riku sighed. "Why would you ask?"
"So I can tell you." Axel replied, and it dawned on Riku that the man was acting a little bit strange.
"Is something wrong?" Riku asked, and Axel sighed in irritation. "I've got to get that kid off my back." He breathed in an urgent tone, and Riku chuckled. "Everyone's got problems."
As Riku said this, he noticed the expression on Axel's face, and stopped smiling.
"What do I ask?" Axel said again, and Riku thought for a moment. "He was involved with Xehanort when he was a kid- he was experimented on along with another kid called Vanitas. That's all I really know. I need to know what Xehanort did to him, and about Vanitas."
Axel grinned slyly, and nodded. "I'll figure out a way to ask him."
"Maybe it will work with you knowing him better. Maybe you can figure out the right way to ask him." Riku said, and Axel nodded. "Alright. See you around, Riku."
Riku waited for a moment, and then nodded, and began to leave. "Remember to tell me when you find out!" he called, and began to walk away again. For some reason, he didn't trust Axel. He suddenly felt like he'd made a mistake telling the man all that information.
Axel looked at Riku for a moment as he walked away, and then turned back to the house, grinning in excitement. If he had this information on Ventus, he could use it to get Ventus to stay away from him. As he opened the door, he noticed that Aqua was pacing around inside. When he shut the door behind him, she looked up at him nervously.
"Ventus wants to talk to you." She said, a hint of curiosity in her tone of voice. Axel nodded, and trudged up the stairs, sighing in anticipation.
Ventus was sitting on Axel's bed with his feet curled up to his chin, staring down blankly at the floor.
"Axel." He gulped, and Axel hesitated for a moment before going over to him. After stalling for a few seconds, Axel sighed, and went over and held Ventus, who grabbed on to him tightly. Axel didn't know if it was the right time to ask about Ventus' past, but he figured that he could at least put the idea in the boy's head.
"Ventus, what was that all about?" he tried, attempting to sound like he really cared. Ventus looked up at him with those deep black eyes that made Axel so uncomfortable, and just continued to stare at the man darkly. "Why do you want to know?" Ventus finally sneered, and Axel shrugged, immediately abandoning the idea.
"I don't know. It just made me worried, what with you lashing out like that." He tried, and Ventus chuckled grimly. "Since when did you care about me?" Ventus snarled, and Axel blinked, trying to think of what to say. Ventus snickered as Axel scrambled for something to say.
"I know what you want. You want me off your back, don't you?" he murmured, and Axel rubbed at his eyes, kicking himself for asking anything in the first place.
"Now that I know that you haven't even been trying to fall in love with me, I won't let you near Aqua. I don't even need to let her be your lawyer."
Axel sucked in a deep breath at this, and gulped back his feelings. "I'm sorry." He whispered, and Ventus stroked his hair. "I'll give you one more chance, and I mean it. If you mess up again, I'll take away everything from you. I'll get you sent to jail; I'll take Aqua and all your friends away from you. Isn't it sad? They all trust me more than they do you." Axel looked at Ventus in fright, and the boy giggled, and kissed him on the nose. "Oh, and I know about your little visits to that friend of yours." He breathed in Axel's ear, and the man bent his head over and started to cry.
Ventus shut his mouth when he noticed Axel crying silently, and tried to get the man to raise his head up. When Axel shoved the boy's hands away, and curled up against the wall, Ventus pursed his lips. "Are you even trying, Axel?" he growled, and Axel folded his hands around his legs. "Just leave me alone." Axel whispered in a shaky voice, and Ventus shrugged. "Okay." The boy said as he got up off the bed, but he stopped when he felt Axel's hands close around his stomach and the man nuzzled his nose into the boy's back. Ventus slowly turned around, and raised Axel's tear stained face up.
"What's wrong, Axel?" Ventus whispered, and Axel looked away in shame. "Is he hurting you?" Ventus said darkly, and tears began to run down Axel's face again. "Did he rape you?" Ventus said, feeling himself starting to panic, but Axel looked up at him coldly. "It's consensual. Like ours." He added, smiling bitterly at Ventus, who gulped a little bit. Ventus let go of Axel's face, and folded his hands over his chest, breathing in and out slowly to calm himself. "Right, well, if you have your extra boyfriend, I can have mine too." He chirped, and Axel scowled behind Ventus' back.
"Who are you going after now?" Axel muttered, and Ventus tried to smile at him, feeling like he could drown in guilt. "I think I'll have that 'talk' with that boy after all."
Axel snickered quietly, and sighed. "Yeah, you can tell me what he says afterward."
"Why do you want to know so bad?" Ventus retorted, and Axel shrugged. "I just want to figure out what made you the way you are." He chanced, and Ventus chose to ignore him.
"I'll give you that." He muttered under his breath as he went down the stairs, and decided to sit in the kitchen for a while so that he could be alone with his thoughts.
….
Reno tapped his fingers on his desk in front of him, sighing in exhaustion. He didn't know exactly how many hours of sleep he had gotten that week, but he figured that the full count couldn't be more than 9 in all. Every day he had been at his office ages past what any normal person would have worked, trying to figure out the stupid case that seemed to be plaguing him.
As Reno sat there, something crept into the front of his mind, and he rummaged through the various files on his desk, trying to look for the right one. When he got to it, he breathed out in contentment, and stared at it, as if appealing to it for help.
It was the picture of the Cetra's hand. They still had yet to find if it had been worth Kid's time to steal it. As he traced the contours of the picture, Lightning stormed into his office, pink cheeked and very annoyed.
"What's the matter?" he breathed, and Lightning rolled her eyes. "There is nothing, and I repeat, nothing worth our time in Shinra Mansion. Hojo hasn't been doing experiments in that house for years. And, all the important files, as we suspected, are gone."
"Maybe he took them out a long time ago." Reno tried, but Lightning wasn't buying it. "We would have found evidence of the move! Hojo isn't a seasoned escape artist!"
"Well then maybe there was nothing there to begin with! Maybe Hojo was the master mind!" Reno finally exploded, and Lightning looked at him with blank eyes.
"What do you mean?" she said slowly, and Reno rolled his eyes. "Maybe we are over thinking this. Maybe Hojo was into more than he let on!"
As Reno tried to explain, Lightning glared at him, shaking her head. "You are giving up, aren't you? I knew that you didn't have the balls to do a case like this." She growled, and Reno stood up, threatening to snap.
"I'm trying my best." He said in a shaky voice. Lightning smirked, and went over closer to him, setting her hands down on his desk. "Are you really?" She said lowly, and Reno shut his mouth, refusing to answer the question.
As Lightning circled his desk, running her eyes over it, scanning the documents, her eyes fell on the paper that Reno was holding, and she huffed. "Why are you so obsessed with that stupid picture? If this was so important, why did they put it with papers from the Wutai War? That happened years ago."
"Maybe it got misplaced." Reno whined, and Lightning snorted unapologetically. "That would be way too much of a coincidence to be a trustworthy option."
"I just have a gut feeling about this thing." Reno almost pleaded, and Lightning rolled her eyes again. "Well, what do you want to do now?" She said dully, and Reno pursed his lips, and scratched the back of his head. "You know how Hojo was trying to use the life stream to experiment on people?"
"Yeah?" Lightning implored, and Reno began to get a little bit excited. "Well, the Cetra were really connected to the Life Stream, and Hojo was using it to make super soldiers, so it's only logical that the picture would be a connection to Hojo, and even Project S!" Reno babbled on, and was extremely pleased to see that Lightning was nodding in agreement. "You are on to something!" She acquiesced, and Reno smiled giddily, suddenly pulling on his coat.
"Well, let's go interrogate Hojo again!" Reno shouted, and dashed to the door before Lightning stopped him.
"Wait a minute, Reno, why can't it wait till the morning?" She sighed, and Reno shook his head vigorously. "Because it just can't! Are you taking a break from this case?" He added, and Lightning's eyes lit up with a stubborn glare. "Never!" She replied grandly, and they both stalked out of the office together, wondering what was going to happen next.
…..
Sephiroth sat at the desk in his office in Midgar, mulling things over in his mind. As he looked around, he couldn't help but chuckle, thinking to himself how this room had previously belonged to Rufus Shinra, the man that he had murdered just a while back. Kadaj sat a few paces away from him, reading the paper uncomfortably. Sephiroth decided to address him, and coughed loudly, waiting for the boy to look up. When he did, Sephiroth grinned.
"What is it, sir?" Kadaj said coolly, and Sephiroth chuckled. "You shouldn't call me sir. We're practically partners now. Father and son team- just like Rufus and the President." He added, and Kadaj stared at him serenely with glassy, uncaring eyes. "Who are both dead now." Kadaj murmured, and Sephiroth laughed out loud, much to the surprise of his son, who glared out at him through the same glassy eyes.
"What are you looking at me like that for, Kadaj?" Sephiroth said dangerously, and Kadaj narrowed his eyes, as if challenging the man.
"You do not scare me." Kadaj hissed, and it made Sephiroth's blood boil. "You would be if you knew just what I could do to you." Sephiroth growled, and Kadaj snickered loudly, and bent forward to him. "Like what you did to my mother?" Kadaj sneered in a whisper, and Sephiroth jerked him up by the shirt suddenly, until their eyes were inches away from each other. "Yeah." Sephiroth snarled, and the daring in Kadaj's eyes disappeared, replaced by masked terror. "I could mess you up all over again." Sephiroth added wickedly, and Kadaj lowered his head so that Sephiroth would not see his eyes becoming moist.
"What a little coward." Sephiroth snarled, and left Kadaj in the middle of the room.
Clenching and unclenching his fists like Aerith had done before, Sephiroth tried to get a bit of calm back into his system. He felt angst all of a sudden creeping through him, and he tried desperately to shake it off as he rounded the corner to his own personal exit out of his building. As he reached the door, the conversation that Master Xehanort and his 'ambassador' had been having returned to the front of his mind. He remembered how the old man had told his assistant not to let Sephiroth near his father, Hojo, awhile back. He wondered why it was so urgent to the old man, and could only think of one thing.
Obviously, if Sephiroth visited Hojo, he would discover something about his past that would release him from Master Xehanort's control.
Quickly, he ordered a small car to pick him up, and gave the chauffer the day off. Then, he hopped in the front, and prepared himself internally for what he was about to.
His heartbeat began to quicken as he pulled up to the Investigation Bureau's headquarters, where they were holding Hojo in await for his trial, and he noticed the headlines on the papers.
"Mad Scientist Arrested After Years Of Illegal Experimentation On Human Beings!"
Sephiroth snorted as he read, and noticed the picture of his father on the front cover. Nobody in the public knew that Hojo was Sephiroth's father, thankfully, so that would not be weighted on his shoulders. But, even though Sephiroth had hated his father for years, he felt a tiny pain in his chest at what the man was going through. He tried desperately to shrug it off, and it sickened him that he still had a shred of care for the man.
After Sephiroth had parked his car, he took a deep breath, and slowly mounted the stairs, thinking of how he would approach a conversation with his father. The woman at the desk was very surprised to see him.
"Um, you're Sephiroth, aren't you?" she blubbered, and Sephiroth nodded, not particularly paying attention to her. "I want to visit my father." He said flatly, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and nodded. "Do you want to talk to him in private?" She asked, and Sephiroth shrugged. "Sure." He said nonchalantly, trying to play up the 'I have nothing to hide' façade as much as he could.
The woman let him into Hojo's cell, and Sephiroth sat down on a stool beside Hojo's small bed in deep discomfort. It was apparent that the man in front of him had never expected a visit from his son.
"Sephiroth!" he said incredulously, and his son forced a smile. "Hello, father." He said coldly, and Hojo blinked blindly. "Why are you here?" He said in a dreamlike trance, and Sephiroth chuckled in agitation.
"I came to visit you. It seems that my 'friend and ally' knows something about me that I don't- and that you know it, too."
"What do you mean?" Hojo asked curiously, and Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "That's what I'm trying to find out."
Hojo just looked at Sephiroth, and then tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the man in front of him. "You know, when you were a tiny baby, I knew that you were special. I knew that you'd bring something important to this world. You just needed time. You became a hero."
"I'm a murderer." Sephiroth said lowly, and the smile on Hojo's face disappeared. "I was a messed up freak because of what you did to me as a child." Sephiroth hissed, and Hojo became uncomfortable. "I was trying to make you into something better than any human could ever dream!"
"You enjoyed torturing me!" Sephiroth snarled, and Hojo took quick, deep breaths in an attempt to stop himself from hyperventilating. "I've atoned for it, though!" Hojo hissed, and Sephiroth felt like he was on the verge of finding out what he had come for. "And just how have you done that?" Sephiroth snapped, and Hojo chuckled madly, reaching his hand out to touch Sephiroth's face.
"You got so angry! You killed! And I covered it up for you! I saved you! You will always have that to remember!" Hojo sneered, and Sephiroth gaped at him in surprise, adding things up in his mind.
"You covered up... the president?" Sephiroth asked slowly, feeling his sense of control slipping fast.
"Yes, yes, of course! That is why I stayed on with Rufus Shinra! I didn't want people's suspicions to turn on you! I gave you a second chance at life! And look at you now! You're a leader! You've gained the respect that you always wanted!" Hojo blathered on, as Sephiroth fought within himself to stay calm, to understand.
"Why did you do it, really?" Sephiroth murmured, and Hojo became silent for a moment, and the almost manic excitement that had animated his features just seconds ago left him. "I did it because…" He started, licking his lips nervously, and coughing, "I did it because… because I loved you." He finished shakily, and Sephiroth's hands clenched into fists.
"I did it because I was sorry. I wanted you to remember me in a good way. I didn't want to be hated by everyone when I died."
"You selfish bastard." Sephiroth snarled under his breath, and Hojo shut his mouth, and bent his head over. "Now I have to live knowing that you were in control of another aspect of my life" Sephiroth snarled, and Hojo shrugged, a little more confident. But, when Sephiroth looked back up, he was the one that was smiling.
"You may think that you've done me a great favor by 'covering up' my mistakes. But it would have been the same either way. Xehanort still took interest in me regardless of your shitting around with my life. You never were, and still are, nothing to me." Sephiroth snarled in his father's face, and he noticed the man's mouth twitch up in a slight, nervous grin. "Then why are you so angry?" the dark haired man said softly, and Sephiroth snapped, going completely silent.
"Goodbye, father. Forever. I hope you rot in this little cell. Slowly. And painfully."
With those words, Sephiroth stalked out of the Bureau, his anger mounting towards hysteria inside him. He stepped into his car and drove back to Shinra Headquarters, fuming with rage as he went. When he finally got back, he barreled in through the exit, moved quickly up the stairs, and straight towards his office. The rage that had been building up inside him was making him crazy, and he suddenly felt the same way that he did when he had found out about how he had been a product of experimentation.
Kadaj was still in the office when Sephiroth returned, and he looked up at his father with distain. "Why did you leave?" he asked dully, and Sephiroth looked at him murderously, breathing slowly. "Don't say another word." Sephiroth murmured gravely, and Kadaj realized that something was very wrong with the man in front of him.
Slowly, the boy got up, put his paper down, and moved towards the door at the same time that Sephiroth did. Kadaj tried to reach out for the handle, but Sephiroth blocked him, shutting the door, and Kadaj began to panic, looking around for anything that could help him. When he could find nothing, he tried to reason with the man in front of him, who seemed to have turned into a monster.
"Father, I know that you are angry, but we can settle this quietly, equally, calmly. Just give yourself a minute to gain back some control-"
As Kadaj said this, it was as if something snapped inside Sephiroth, and his lips curled up into a snarl.
"You think I'm not in control?" Sephiroth snickered, and Kadaj began to panic. "Of course you are in control- but I just want you to take a moment to calm down."
"You're a little liar." Sephiroth snarled, and Kadaj gulped, wishing that he'd said the right thing.
"Please, just calm down." Kadaj tried, and Sephiroth lunged at him, knocking the young man down onto the ground, and standing over him with his fists clenched. As Kadaj tried to stand up again, Sephiroth kicked him, and Kadaj felt his lungs burning as the wind was knocked out of him.
"'Please'! Are we trying to be 'accomodating' now? Everyone wants to be on my good side, don't they?" Sephiroth mocked, as the young man in front of him looked up at him in horror.
Kadaj shook his head vigorously, holding his stomach in pain and fear. "No, father, of course that is not what I mean-"
"I am not your father! I didn't ask for you to be born! If I had it my way, you never would have been!" He sneered, and Kadaj felt tears well up in his eyes. "Father, stay away from me." He said shakily, but Sephiroth ignored him, and bent down over him, pulling the young man up by the shirt so that he would look at him. "You don't want me now? I thought we were 'partners'!" He jeered, and Kadaj took a deep breath, and screamed for help as loud as he could. Sephiroth slapped him, and Kadaj began to struggle wildly, punching his father hard in the face, which made the man angrier. Slowly and deliberately, Sephiroth got up, and locked the door into the office, taking delight, as Kadaj's eyes grew wide with fear.
"What are you doing?" Kadaj gulped, and Sephiroth grinned maliciously.
"Teaching you a lesson."
…..
Vanitas heard a strange, high-pitched noise that seemed to be coming from a few floors above him. When he had been genetically engineered as a child, all of his senses had been heightened. No one else had seemed to hear the noise that he did. But, Xehanort noticed the change in the boy's composure.
"What is it, Vanitas?" He said with suspicion, and Vanitas waited. No other sound came, so he put any thoughts he had about it aside. "I do not know." He said without care, and looked away, other thoughts creeping into his mind. He had three weeks left until he had to find a cure for himself. Axel's trial was just around the corner, and Vanitas figured that after that was over and done with, he could do a little hunting himself. He was sure that the antidote would be complicated.
"Vanitas, you have been off lately. Is something wrong with the medication?" Xehanort asked, and Vanitas shook his head. The old man sighed, putting the book he was holding down in front of him, and looked directly at the boy in front of him. "You are brave, going through this with this constant damper looming over you. I admire you."
Vanitas felt something inside himself glow the slightest bit. He wondered if it was pride.
"Thank you, sir. I will try to work harder." He said smoothly, and Xehanort chuckled. "Just put it out of mind, boy. It is too much of a disturbance to think about it. It impedes your judgment."
Suddenly, Vanitas went stock straight, listening carefully to everything around him. Xehanort noticed, and raised his eyebrows in curiosity, looking around him. "What is it now, Vanitas?"
"I heard something. High pitched, I believe it's coming from a few floors above us." He said in agitation, and Xehanort's head snapped up. "That is Sephiroth's office."
The two looked at one another, and then, suddenly, they both jumped up, and Vanitas ran for the door. "Stay here, sir, it may be dangerous." Vanitas said quickly, but Xehanort waved him off. "I will be there in a moment. I cannot move as fast as you can these days." Then, he went down the hall to the elevator with a few bodyguards.
Vanitas looked at Xehanort for a moment as he moved down the hallway, but the young man had to turn away quickly, remembering where he was supposed to be. Quickly, he ran up the stairs, infuriated with himself for not thinking that it could be coming from Sephiroth's room. He should have been thinking more carefully.
When he got to the door, he found that it was locked, and he called it in on the small communication device he kept on his wrist. "He's locked the door!" Vanitas said urgently to Xehanort, and the man sighed across the line. "What can you hear?" He asked, and Vanitas listened more closely. "It's just him and Kadaj. Kadaj is the one screaming. Sephiroth is shouting, too, but he is saying words. Kadaj isn't." He said, and then realized what was going on.
"He's raping him." Vanitas said flatly across the line, and Xehanort was silent. "Get security personnel up there immediately. Where was Sephiroth before this happened?" Xehanort added, and Vanitas called in more security. One of them was armed with a lock pick, and Xehanort arrived from the elevator, signaling for them to hurry up. "If we do lose Sephiroth, I can't afford to lose the boy. All these replacements will look suspicious, it needs to stop with him."
As Xehanort said this, the door was unlocked, and one of the guards stood aside, and kicked open the door. When he tried to enter the room, Sephiroth came out slowly and deliberately, and punched him hard in the neck, sending the man down. With amazing speed, Sephiroth took down guard after guard, becoming dangerously close to Xehanort.
When he was right in front of the old man, Sephiroth grinned, and stopped cold. "What do you think?" he said mockingly, and Xehanort narrowed his eyes at him. "I think that I have entertained a fool." He growled, and Sephiroth's grin turned into a snarl as he rushed at the old man.
Before he could touch Xehanort, though, he was sent to the ground, unconscious, by Vanitas, who had stood hidden out of the way until that moment. Xehanort stood motionless for a second, but then he relaxed, shaking his head bitterly and looking down at the man at his feet.
"Your own son!" he murmured incredulously, and moved into the office, where Kadaj lay crumbled on the ground, staring blankly ahead of him. Xehanort took his cloak off, and put it over Kadaj gently, who looked up at the elderly man with hazy eyes. "What do you want?" he said with a slight slur, and Xehanort looked at him seriously. "I am appalled at what that man did to you. I have enlisted him for help up to this point, but there is a time when things go too far." He said gently, and Kadaj looked away from him with an unintelligible expression.
"I do not want to be a part of this any more." He muttered, and Xehanort looked at Vanitas darkly, motioning for him to bring up paramedics. Then, he turned back to the boy in front of him. "Where would you go?" He asked, and Kadaj refused to look at him, shrugging.
"You have already betrayed your friends- if you could even call them that. I recall you saying that your brothers did not care for you too much. That uncaringness must have been distributed to their other friends, whom you call your own." Xehanort explained, and as he did, Kadaj's head bent lower and lower hopelessly. "They could not protect you from the horrors of your past- but here, you are with people that can." Xehanort continued, and Kadaj looked up at him in wonder. "If you help us, we will help you. We are not asking you for any favors, and you do not have to ask us for any favors. But if we can help you, we will."
Kadaj thought about it for a moment, and then put his face into his hands. "I am tired." He whispered, and Xehanort sighed. "We all are."
Then, the boy nodded to himself, and tried to stand up, but couldn't. "What did he do to you?" Xehanort asked, and Kadaj looked at the man in horror. "What injuries did he inflict on you?" The elderly man revised, and Kadaj breathed out in relief. "I believe that he broke my leg. He also got me in the ribs, the eye, and the head."
Xehanort nodded, and a paramedic tapped his shoulder to tell him that they would be taking over from there. Xehanort stepped aside as the paramedics brought Kadaj away, and Sephiroth was hauled off downstairs to a cell in the basement of Shinra.
….
Namine looked on as the old mansion, and all of the memories within it, was marked for demolition. Marluxia had promised that if he got her, he'd destroy the place just to 'teach her a lesson', and so far he seemed to be keeping his promise.
As Marluxia put his hand on her shoulder, Namine had to force herself not to recoil, looking down at the ground to keep from showing any emotion that might make him angry. Even though she tried to hide it, though, Marluxia tilted her head up in curiosity. "What's wrong, flower?" He said softly, stroking Namine's jaw, and she tried to smile and say 'nothing', but she found that she couldn't speak without tearing up. So, she just shrugged, which made Marluxia sigh in frustration.
"You know, Namine, I am trying my best to be accommodating, but you are making it very hard for me with all of this difficult behavior of yours. Could you try to be a little bit more enthusiastic?" He tried to reason, and Namine looked up at him in wonder. "How can I be enthusiastic about this?" she said angrily, pointing to the sign in front of her, and Marluxia grinned. "Why do you even have such a big attachment to this place? Namine, Ansem was not the 'loving father' that you seem to think he was. He bullied you and he used you, and you would know best. But you lived in denial." He snapped, turning Namine to face him. "And you are still refusing to accept that there has never been a person in your life that has cared about you. And now, finally, that someone is staring you right in the face and you are ignoring them." He added, smiling a little bit. But Namine glared at him. "You have a funny way of showing it." She muttered, and continued to look longingly at the mansion that had previously been her home. "Can I go to college?" She said half heartedly, and Marluxia snorted. "You won't need to. I've just gotten wonderful news. I'm going to open more flower shops, start a chain. You can be my assistant." He added, playing with the ends of Namine's hair.
There was a ringing in Marluxia's pocket, and he raised an eyebrow in curiosity, taking out his cellphone. When he put it to his ear and asked who was calling, he chuckled as he heard the person across the line. "Larxene, I was thinking about you. Would you like to come over for a victory dinner? I'm opening up my chain. I'll see you soon." He chattered, and Namine looked around her, and suddenly, her heart nearly stopped when she saw the boy standing a few yards away from her. It was Pence. Slowly, she walked towards him, and Marluxia watched her carefully as she went over to him and gave him a hug.
"Hey, Pence." She gulped, and Pence waved at her good-naturedly. "What's up with that sign, Namine? Are you moving?" He asked, and Namine nodded sadly. "Yeah. Not far, though. Just in with Marluxia." She said shakily, and Pence shrugged. "I understand." He sighed, and looked back up at the mansion. "It's terrible that it's gonna be demolished though. There'll be another bit of history, gone."
Namine looked up at the house that used to seem so foreboding to her. Now it just seemed a little sad, and tired. It made her heart hurt to be leaving it. Then, Namine decided something in her mind, and she led Pence over to a small tree stump near the house that they could sit down on.
"What's up, Namine?" He asked curiously, and Namine smiled at him. "Can I tell you a secret?" She said quietly, and Pence nodded.
"Well, I was the daughter of an opera singer." She said, and Pence narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I always had to hide myself when I was with her, because she didn't want people to know that she had a child. When my dad and she died, I was sent to an orphanage in a place called Jazzo. From there, I was sent to another one in Cocoon, called L'Academie. I hated it, so I ran away when we were on a field trip to the Planet. I eventually got to the Land That Never Was, and I went into an orphanage there. From there, I was taken in by Organization Thirteen, and then Ansem took me in."
Pence looked at her in surprise, and pursed his lips. "Wow, Namine. You've had one heck of a life up until this point." He chuckled, and Namine realized sadly that she might have confided in the wrong person. Pence didn't understand how important it was to Namine, telling a story that she had never dared even think about before.
"Well, I just wanted someone to know." She murmured, and she heard Marluxia call her name. She got up, and then sighed, smoothing out her skirt. "Well, I've got to be on my way." She said sadly, and Pence waved at her as she walked off. "Thanks for telling me, Namine!" he chuckled, and looked at the mansion one more time before he decided to go off, too.
Namine walked back over to Marluxia, who put his hand around her shoulder again. "Larxene is going to meet us for some dinner." He said grandly, and Namine nodded, staring down at the ground. She heard Marluxia sigh, and Namine looked up at him curiously. He was obviously not pleased with her. "You expect so much from people." Namine whispered, and she saw anger flare up in Marluxia's eyes, and felt him grasp her hair in his fingers. "You're acting very cheeky for a girl who I can do whatever I want to." He sneered, and Namine looked into his eyes defiantly. "This is just the way I am now." She said strongly, and Marluxia rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "You should have never met that girl Kairi. She had a bad influence on you."
"It was Sora." Namine corrected, and she felt the hand on the back of her hair pull tighter.
"Are you saying it was my fault?"
"For what?"
"For leaving you to your own devices?"
"It's your call."
Marluxia seemed to have had enough, and grabbed Namine by the arm, grabbing her jaw and shaking it. "I've got lots of ideas for what I want to do to you when we get home. And remember, you promised that you wouldn't run away. Or I will find Xion. And I'll make her wish that she'd never been born."
"You wouldn't kill her." Namine cut in, and Marluxia chuckled. "I don't know about that. When people get desperate, some pretty shitty things can happen." He sighed, and Namine felt her blood run cold.
"I'm sorry." She said flatly, and Marluxia snorted, patting her on the back. "How sincere that sounded."
The two met Larxene on their way home, and she smiled when she saw them.
"Well, well, well. The gang is all back together, hah? Is Axel in there?" Larxene asked in curiosity, and Marluxia shrugged. "He might be waiting on the doorstep. The trial's coming around soon, and he's getting more desperate for help."
"Will you help him?" Larxene asked, and Marluxia smiled maliciously. "If he's good, I will."
"I think you should just say, 'sorry, changed my mind.' He deserves it."
"He has been very good though, lately, Larxene. You should see the way he toddles around after me. I've got him wrapped around my thumb." Marluxia said with glee, and Larxene narrowed her eyes at him. "Isn't that just wonderful?" she finally said, smiling sweetly, and going up to Marluxia's door. Axel hadn't come, and Marluxia pursed his lips, obviously irritated. Larxene just laughed. "Wrapped around your thumb, huh? Typical Marluxia…"
"Shut up, Larxene." Marluxia hissed, and unlocked and opened the door in irritation. He pressed the pay button on his answering machine, and found that Axel had left the first message.
"Marluxia, I'm really sorry I didn't come over today, but I'm sorting out trial stuff. I am scared and I just want to make sure that I've done everything that I need to; my lawyer wants to call you tonight and talk to you. She says that if all goes well, we could all meet in person tomorrow. So, I hope that all goes well. See you tomorrow, regardless."
Marluxia sighed in masked frustration, and pursed his lips. "I wonder who his lawyer is."
"I heard that it was a girl." Larxene chirped, and Marluxia raised an eyebrow. "From who?"
"Xigbar." She replied, and Marluxia looked surprised. "Why did he call you?"
"He wanted to know if I was testifying. I said yes, I was. And then he just said "okay", and we started talking about Axel a little bit."
Marluxia shook his head. "Well, I'm surprised that Xigbar is interested in this stupid trial. Of course he would assume that you were testifying."
Larxene smiled at this, and sighed. "Yeah, well when they figure out who I'm testifying for, they'll all be surprised."
Marluxia examined Larxene for a moment as she sat back, obviously pleased with herself, and smiled. "Are you trying to prove something, Larxene?" He whispered sensually, and Larxene looked up at him like a deer in headlights, and then grimaced. "Fuck off." She said dully, and looked out the window with no expression.
"Well, I'm going to get the food ready, and you two ladies can talk while I'm at it." Marluxia finally said with a smile, and went into the kitchen, leaving Namine and Larxene in the living room by themselves.
Namine sat awkwardly, hoping that Larxene wouldn't say anything, but the woman looked over at her with narrowed eyes, as if trying to figure her out. There was silence for a moment until Larxene spoke.
"I could just never understand you. You know, the way you worked. The effect you had on people." She started quietly, and Namine sat by without a word.
"The first time you met Axel, and the first time he met you, you were so busy gawking over him that you didn't notice him looking at you. The first time I saw you, I noticed it too. There was something different about you. Something fresh, and innocent, and sweet. Girly, I guess, too. And I hated it. I'll admit I was jealous." Larxene murmured, turning back to the window.
"Every time I looked at you, I saw things that reminded me about myself. I could see in your eyes that you'd had a hard life." She muttered begrudgingly, and started to chew on her fingernails, something that Namine had never seen her do before. "You think that Marluxia is tough? Try growing up with a dad who beats you every fucking second. If I looked at him funny he'd wallop me. And then he did stuff to my sister." Larxene's voice cracked as she said this, and there was more silence as she tried to get herself together. "But I ran away with my sister. She died on the road because of food poisoning. We were too scared to take her to a hospital because we would have to go back to our dad. We were twins." She added bitterly, readjusting herself. "But I managed to survive on my own. I had a few run-ins. At first I couldn't fight back. But then I learned how to. And when I was brave enough, I went back to find my old man and teach him a lesson, but he was dead, too. He'd drank too much one night and hit his head falling down." She broke off at this point, and thought of what to say next, her features becoming softer as she thought.
"Axel was the nicest man I'd ever met. He had a few bad spots to his name, but everyone does. I liked him the moment I saw him. But, then again, so did you." Larxene added dully, looking at Namine again with intense jealousy. "But you want to know the thing that irritated me the most? How innocent you were. How lucky you were- after everything you'd been through. And that lack of confidence, the lack of strength- that was what was rewarded. Me, who'd busted my ass trying to make something of myself, and you come along with your girly blond hair, and your little pink cheeks and captivate everyone. You didn't have to do a fucking thing." She hissed, and Namine looked at her in amazement. "I thought that I'd done it all wrong. But, now we see how things really fold out." She whispered, and grinned triumphantly. "I may miss Axel for the rest of my life, but I've won. I'm going to testify against him. And Marluxia's gonna fuck you tonight whether you like it or not." She added, making Namine gulp. Then, Larxene sighed, standing up and stretching.
"Well, it's nice to finally get that off my chest." The woman chirped, and went over to look at the bookshelf like nothing happened. Namine looked down at her hands for a moment, and then looked back up at Larxene sadly.
"You'll always love him?" Namine whispered, and Larxene looked back at her incredulously. "What?" She hissed, and Namine sighed. "Axel, I mean. You'll always love him, won't you?" She asked, and Larxene refused to answer.
"He let me down." Namine said shakily, and Larxene chuckled angrily under her breath, shaking her head. "I was always just a pretty doll to him. That's why I finally let him out of my heart. I knew I'd get hurt."
"When you love someone you'd lie like shit under their feet and let them step on you as long as you could be around them!" Larxene snapped at her, and Namine shook her head. "If that's the way you think then you obviously haven't learned enough respect for yourself!" She said, raising her voice, and Larxene clenched her hands into fists, gritting her teeth. "What the hell do you know, little girl?" She snapped, and Namine stood up in anger. "I'm not a little girl anymore!" She shouted, and Larxene raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Marluxia poked his head into the living room in curiosity, and looked from Larxene to Namine. "Are you ladies alright in here?" Marluxia said softly, and Larxene put on a smile, nodding. "We were just reminiscing." She gushed a little over enthusiastically, and Marluxia smiled, and went back into the kitchen. Larxene looked back at Namine with narrowed eyes and a grin.
"He's gonna have a lot of fun with you tonight. It'll be good to see you back where you belong." She hissed, and left Namine in the living room alone.
…..
Xion sat at the window in Roxas' room, looking out of it in frustration. She hated it that Namine was stuck with Marluxia, and she hated it even more that she couldn't do anything about it.
Laughter came up from downstairs, and Xion sat back and listened to some of the talking. Roxas had his old friends over that night, and they were all just catching up. When she heard Namine's name, her ears perked up, and she decided to venture down the stairs to see what they were talking about.
As she got closer to the living room, she identified the voice talking as Pence's.
"Then she said that she was the child of an opera singer. And she said that she went to an orphanage in Jazzo, among others."
"Isn't Jazzo miles away from here?"
"Yeah, it's across a sea, man. It's in this place called Gehstalia."
"Do you think that she was making it up?"
"Why would she just make that shit up?"
"I don't know, for a good story?"
"Pence, you're stretching it."
They continued to talk as Xion entered the room, and when Olette saw her, she beckoned for Xion to sit down beside her. As Xion sat down, Olette looked at her, and when the black haired girl was seated, Olette tapped her gently on the shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly, and Xion shrugged. "I'm just interested in the conversation."
"And then, then she said that she was moved to another orphanage in Cocoon."
"Isn't that in that place that was at war a little while ago? Pulse, or something?"
"Gee, Hayner, did you pay any attention in geography?"
"Not that part!"
Xion looked on at everyone as they laughed and joked together, and she could tell how Roxas had felt so detached from them after he'd gotten his memory back, and even before DiZ had taken control of him. The three friends had such a set dynamic with one another, it seemed hard to wedge into. Or, maybe it was just her.
"Hey, Xion, you lived with her, right? Did she tell you any of this?" Hayner asked jokingly, and Xion stared at him for a moment, and then shook her head. "No, no she didn't…" She whispered, and Pence looked around the table with a smug glance.
"She knows I like to tell a good story. So she gave me a good story to tell."
Hayner broke out laughing at this, and Olette smiled. Roxas looked over at Xion with a worried glance, wondering how she was taking it all.
"I don't think that she made it up." Xion said seriously, and everyone got quiet. "Maybe it was so important that she told the closest person to her at the time. Maybe it was her last chance to say what was on her heart."
There was a round of blank stares for a moment, and then suppressed giggles, as everyone looked around to see if Xion was serious or not. Then, Hayner took the initiative once again, and started to laugh, as everyone else slowly joined in. Xion stood silently for a moment, and then smiled serenely, and sat back down. Pence shook his head and shrugged. "Well, I don't know if you'd know her better, but why would she tell me all that? I hardly know her. Up until a few years ago, I thought that she was a ghost."
A pain tugged at Xion's chest as Pence said this, and she understood the way Namine had felt for so many years. Being invisible was very hard. Then, something clicked with her, and Xion suddenly went over to Pence, and touched his shoulder.
Pence looked up at her in curiosity, and Xion leaned towards him, trying to mask the urgency of the situation. "Pence, what exactly did Namine tell you?" Xion said sweetly, and Pence shrugged.
"She told me that she was the daughter of an opera singer, and that she went to an orphanage in Jazzo, then she went to another place called "L'Academie" in Cocoon. And then while she was on a field trip, she came to Nibelhiem and somehow got to the Land That Never Was from there. Then came Ordination Fifteen, or something like that, and then Ansem. And that was it. She said it really fast and kind of confusingly so don't take my word for it." Pence explained, and Xion nodded, smiling. "Thank you, Pence. That is all nice to know."
"Well, Xion, I am happy to relate it. That wasn't my best story telling, though, I have to say. I can change the style to make it much more convincing, if you like."
"The material is what needs changing, Pence." Hayner snickered, and Olette kicked his leg under the table for him to stop. Xion was amazed at how Roxas sat back and just watched his friends talk about Namine. It only got worse when Hayner began to reminisce on when they first saw her.
"Remember when we were doing our summer project for 10th grade? And all that crazy stuff happened when Roxas disappeared for a while and stuff?" He piped up, and Olette nodded, rolling her eyes.
"Of course we all had to do our projects the night before school started!" She huffed, and Hayner pointed at her accusingly.
"Nu-uh!" He cut in, folding his hands in front of him. "You did yours before that and you never told us. You made it seem like we were all working together."
Olette rolled her eyes in frustration. "Of course I did it before! I wanted to see if you could actually do a viable piece of school work on your own without me helping you out!"
"But you ended up sharing your work with us anyway, in the end, so you just ended up wasting time in the long run!"
"I let you copy off me, and you made a shoddy PowerPoint! Pence did the presentation! At least he was somewhat useful!"
"Now you're just getting in a dig, Olette."
"Wait, guys, what was the point of this story anyway?" Pence interrupted, and Olette and Hayner stopped arguing so that Hayner could remember what he had been talking about in the first place.
"Oh, yeah. The ghost was our original idea; we were going to get pictures and stuff. We ended up doing amphibians, or something down by the creek. But, anyway, it was just weird how the ghost was actually a real person! If we had have caught her- now that would have been a presentation!"
"Then we made friends with her!" Olette added, and Hayner snorted. "I thought that she was kind of weird. She never talked."
"Hayner, come off it." Roxas finally said, and Hayner shrugged. "I'm just saying! That Sora kid was kind of weird, too, but in a different way. He was so… happy…" Hayner finished mystically, and Olette chuckled. "Is being 'happy' a problem, Hayner? Or do you expect everyone to sit around sulking like you do?"
Hayner ignored this, and continued. "She was so different from Kairi, but she looked so alike to her! I can't explain it… and the girl seemed like she knew so much… like the person who can tell the future in a thriller…" Hayner jabbered on, and Roxas sat by, rolling his eyes.
"I like her." Olette finally said, and Hayner tried to redeem himself.
"No, I like her too, it's just I don't know her very well. She's a bit of a mystery- and she fooled us all, didn't she? Even the person closest to her! Who knew that that was her life?"
"I don't think that she'd want you all shouting it out for the whole world to hear!" Roxas grumbled, and Hayner shook his head in frustration. "I'm not gonna tell anyone else! I just thought that it was interesting. Pence was the one who didn't believe her!"
"Well, I wouldn't have believed me if I'd told that story!"
"That's because it's you, Pence."
"Well… whatever…"
Everyone sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then Olette decided that it was time for a change of subject, and they all began to talk happily again, without care, while Xion slowly slipped out of the room and up the stairs.
She paced around the room, wondering what could be done, fuming at how they talked about Namine. It was a while before Roxas joined her, coming slowly into the room. Then, he shoved his hands into his pockets and blew out a deep breath slowly because he didn't know what to say.
"Is everyone gone?" Xion asked shyly, and Roxas nodded.
"I wish that you'd come down more. You kind of kept to the shadows."
"Were they talking about me?"
"No, of course not. They wouldn't talk about you around me."
"Yeah, maybe around others, but not around you?" Xion chuckled, and Roxas sighed heavily. There was silence for a moment, and then Xion smiled at him, and sat down on the bed.
"I just know what Namine felt like. What it was like to be invisible. And then, on top of that, to have everyone forget…" She whispered, and then Roxas finally sat down beside her, taking her hand in his.
"I didn't forget." Roxas whispered, and Xion sighed. "Did you have no idea where I went?" She murmured, and Roxas pursed his lips, shrugging. "I… you didn't really leave much for me to follow. And then a bunch of stuff happened, and I was thrown into all this crazy stuff..." Roxas blathered on, and Xion looked at the ground. "But, you're here now, right?" He said hopefully, and Xion smiled. "Yeah, I am."
"And I'd hate to lose you again." Roxas added, and Xion rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I'll never leave you behind again." Roxas whispered, and Xion felt discomfort rising inside of her as she continued to think about Namine.
…..
A cannon went off in the royal garden as King Mickey announced his first purchase from Marluxia's flower company, now a chain with new locations opening in various cities throughout the region, and some in the Planet. It was a huge success.
"The first flowers from this company that I will be putting into my garden are their striped lilacs. An ingenious innovation on the beautiful flower." The King announced, as he put the first lilac down into the soil of his huge garden. One by one, he planted ten of them, and then got up and dusted himself off, removing his gloves as all the attendants cheered around him, and then all filed off for various assortments of cakes and beverages laid out for all the guests. King Mickey stayed behind, admiring his handy work, and then went back to the castle in order to change so he could greet his guests properly.
As his attendants led King Mickey back towards the castle, Sora's father waved to him, and the king went over and shook the man's hand warmly.
"How is the investigation going?" He asked politely, and Sora's father chuckled, shrugging. "Well, we haven't made much headway. It isn't going nearly as quickly as we would prefer. But, what can you do?" He added good-naturedly, and Mickey chuckled.
"But, that isn't the reason that I addressed you." Sora's father concluded, and Mickey looked at him in surprise. "Then please inform me of the reason."
"There is a young girl here who is very eager to speak with you. She needs your advice on some business transactions that went on between you and her friend, Namine."
King Mickey's mouth formed into the shape of an 'o' as he thought on it, and he beckoned for Sora's father to introduce the girl to him. Xion stepped out from behind a crowd of people going for the punch bowl, and waved at King Mickey shyly.
"Hello, King." She started, bowing unsurely, but King Mickey signaled for her to stop. "I'm just the King of this town, you don't need to bow to me. Nor does anyone else, for that matter." He chuckled, and Xion smiled half-heartedly.
"Sir, I was wondering… has Namine's money all gone to Marluxia?" She asked seriously, and King Mickey eyed her with scrutiny. "No. She told me to stop the business transactions. She told me to stop paying her."
Xion nodded at this, a little bit relieved, and then sighed, trying to figure out how to word what she was going to say next. "I want to help Namine. I'm wondering if there was some way that I could get a ticket to Nibelheim, and then on to Jazzo." She explained, not knowing how else to say it. King Mickey looked at her blankly, and then narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to go to these places, young one?" He asked, and Xion pursed her lips, trying to come up with the right answer. "Since I was listed as living with her, do I have a right to the money?" She asked, and King Mickey shut his mouth, looking over at Sora's father for help.
"I have a reference, if you need one." She blurted out, and King Mickey nodded. "I know that you know Sora."
"And Roxas, and Axel, and Ventus, and Riku and Kairi. I know all of them- all of those people who helped you. Why would I be lying?"
"Why do you want this money so badly?" King Mickey snapped, and Xion took a deep breath.
"I need to help Namine!"
"Is she in trouble?" King Mickey asked seriously, and Xion shut her mouth again, trying to decide what the best thing to say was. If Marluxia knew what she was doing, he would make things hard on her. No one could know. "No." Xion chirped, and King Mickey looked over at Sora's father grimly.
"Is he here for moral support?" Mickey asked quietly, and Xion looked over at Sora's father. "Kind of. I guess you could call him a reference, too. I just want to figure things out. I want to find out about Namine." Xion tried to say, and King Mickey sighed. "You don't need any money, Xion." He sighed, and Xion looked at him incredulously. "What?"
"You don't need any money. If you have special permission, you can go wherever you want."
Xion didn't quite know where the king was going with this, so she just kept quiet and waited for him to explain.
"I can give you a document upholding that you are out on royal permission- but you've got to be on your upmost behavior. And you have to tell me exactly what you are doing. Riku and the man standing close to you are very dear friends of mine- so I trust that what you are trying to figure out is of importance."
Xion stood silently for a moment, but then she sighed, and spoke. "I want to find out how old Namine is. I don't think that a proper investigation was pursued. Namine knows more than she is willing to let on. Maybe I could pick up some other information along the way." Xion added, and Sora's father pursed his lips. "It's worth a try, isn't it?" Xion asked, and King Mickey thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Fine, I will send an attendant with you to make sure that you get along okay. I think I know just the man for the job."
King Mickey signaled to Sora's father as he said this, and the man went over to King Mickey with phone in hand, and the two talked in low voices for a moment, and then Sora's father made a call, and began speaking with another man.
Xion looked on nervously as they spoke with each other, wondering how she had accomplished what she did. It seemed like the hardest part was over with.
King Mickey and Sora's father came back to her, and King Mickey looked at her closely again. "The man's name is Rude. He used to be a member of the Turks, but he left the organization. He has recently worked within the highest office of the Investigation Bureau, and he has also taken on official duties for the advisory board over this whole region. We trust him very much. He will keep you safe."
Xion nodded, a little bit worried at the fact that she did not know the man accompanying her. But if King Mickey trusted him, she figured that he was all right.
"We will also get your papers ready." He sighed, and Xion felt excitement building up inside of her.
"Please let this work." She whispered under her breath, and closed her eyes. Then, she went back into the castle with Sora's father and King Mickey to discuss the details of her trip.