Scratches and Scuffles

The High and Mighty Tackle.

Strange name for a restaurant. It was wedged between a souvenir shop and a clothing outlet on Sunset Pier. It was run by Olette's family.

Thanks to a boy with too much time and money on his hands, the High and Mighty Tackle was shut down. Perhaps I share some of the blame. I was the one who declared open season on scholarship students at the Academy. I never expected my fellow classmates to take things this far, but lack of foresight doesn't my excuse my role in this sordid affair.

The offender's name was Hayner. His family fortune was carved out of real estate, which included Sunset Pier. It was a shopping plaza on the sea. The walkway stretched out into coastal waters, supported by rows of large concrete pillars. If you stood at the end, you would be surrounded by an endless blue. Come dusk, the sun would blaze across the horizon in brilliant shades of orange.

I observed the plaza from behind tinted windows in the backseat of my limousine. I wanted to see the sad conclusion of one boy's obsession with a girl. The restaurant was decorated in a seaside village motif with thatched roofs and wooden torches. A giant swordfish hanging over the entrance announced its specialty—seafood. But today, there were no customers. Only a yellow sign that said it was temporarily closed.

Hayner was responsible. He was proof that even with the sharpest tools in the world, some stones refused to be polished. The property manager, spurred by the whims of Hayner, disregarded proper procedure for eviction. He should've known better but the promise of success has been known to blind. Word of the incident leaked to the press and a media spotlight fell squarely on a young boy exploiting his family fortune for personal gain. The masses devoured this kind of story.

I'd had enough of Sunset Pier. I ordered the chauffeur to bring me to Olette's residence. Her home was situated in a middle-class suburb. It was quiet. The streets were lined with parked cars and the lawns appeared as their masters tended, ranging from disordered to immaculate. Olette's was somewhere in between. I stepped on footstones in a path to the porch. I rapped the door with my knuckles.

The home opened up, revealing a girl in an orange top and cargo shorts. Although I had never met her personally, I recognized her. Her photos were all over the media. Green eyes widened in shock. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize for everything that's happened to you."

She was confused. "It wasn't your fault."

"Not entirely, but I'm still partly responsible as a representative of the Academy. It was because of my hostile escalation that made this incident possible. For amends, I want you to take this." I pulled a card from my shirt pocket and offered it. In my world, words alone were insufficient for recompense.

"What is this?" She took it from my hand and read it over, her eyes cloudy with caution.

"It's a law firm." Ever since the incident leaked, lawyers were lining up for a piece of the eventual out-of-court settlement. The property manager violated commercial tenant rights. The media attention would inflate the settlement amount. To avoid a media circus, both sides would sign non-disclosure agreements to protect Hayner's reputation. "They'll make sure you'll have the maximum settlement without taking a percentage. The prestige from handling a high profile case would be payment enough."

"I…"

"Throw it away or use it. It's up to you."

"Um… Thank you." Her fingers gripped the card tightly, causing it to bend.

"I do have one other request, if you may indulge me."

"What is it?"

"Return to the Academy. There's no reason to stay withdrawn."

Her head dipped in slight shame. "Thank you but… I'm not ready to return yet."

I didn't press further. I didn't ask for her sake, or my sake, but for Kairi's sake. They were friends, and Olette's absence was a big part of Kairi's animosity towards me. "Fair enough. If you return, however, I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Sorry. I still need more time."

"That's fine." My limousine was out of place in a neighborhood like this. Several residents were peeking through their curtains. I'd have to leave soon.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"One last detail. I'm curious. You could've prevented this affair. All you had to do was acquiesce to his advances. You knew the consequences for refusal. Why did you deny him? Was it on principle?"

She let out a wry laughter. "It's nothing noble like that. I wasn't making a statement or anything."

"Then why?"

"I just didn't like him."

The elegance of her reply robbed me of my breath. It was a brilliant answer. But it brought about an uncomfortable realization about my pursuit of Kairi. Perhaps my guilt wasn't rooted in cause, but in a premonition of the future. Would I too become another Hayner, another scandal waiting to happen?

I shuddered at the thought.

I was getting my ass kicked.

I was on my way to meet Selphie at the mall when a group of four ruffians clad in hoodies and wife beaters assaulted me. They grabbed me by the arms, dragged me into an alleyway, and started pounding away. It all happened so fast—I was powerless.

My head would snap from side to side from alternating hooks. My vision was invaded by flickering bright spots. I could barely hold on to consciousness. They concentrated their attack on my body. Their blows dug into my gut, forcing me to bow and crumple. They stood me up on wobbly legs for more punishment. When I could no longer stand, they let go, and I dropped like a sack of bones.

Specks of blood splattered the concrete as I coughed. A rare sensation enveloped me. It was fear. I was confused. No thoughts—only senses: a ringing in my ears, the sharp pulse of pain, and the bitter taste of iron. Why? I wondered. Why? My breath was ragged and desperate. There was nothing to stop them from inflicting more harm. Four pairs of legs loomed on the edge of my periphery, their shadows locking me to the ground.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I verbalized. They answered with a kick to my ribs. "Aagh!"

"It's nothing personal," one of them answered. "It's just business. We'll drag your ass to him after we've made you look real nice and pretty."

"Easy money!"

I brought up my arms to block the next attack but it didn't matter. I was surrounded and blows rained from every direction. All I could do was curl up and protect my head.

"Look at this pathetic little shit."

"I thought he would've put up a better fight."

They laughed, the noise mixing in with insults and mockery. The humiliation was palpable. I hated this. It was as if I swallowed a cold wet lump that thrashed inside, writhing violently in my stomach. I could hardly hold myself up. My palms were wet and trembling. Then I sensed a sudden change in atmosphere.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them asked. The question wasn't directed at me. Someone had arrived. I could hear slow and steady footsteps approach. I couldn't see who it was. I was still dizzy from the pain.

"Get out of here!" another warned. "This ain't none of your business!"

"That's where you're wrong." I recognized the voice; it was Cloud. "You guys just made a huge mistake." A flurry of heavy thuds and smacks were heard, followed by surprised yelps, screams of terror, and the loud impact of bodies crashing into walls. By the time I recovered my senses, the four boys had become alleyway decorations, their limp bodies sinking into heaps of garbage. Cloud stood over me with an outstretched hand. I grabbed it.

"What took you so long?"

"I wanted to see if you could get out of it."

I almost laughed but my jaw ached. "You're a terrible bodyguard."

"Only because you make my job harder than it has to be."

"Perhaps you're right." I leaned against the wall. Each breath made the pain throb. I brushed my injuries with a feathered touch and winced. I was raw like tenderized meat.

"Do you want me to record their identities?"

"That won't be necessary." As much as I wanted them to suffer, I would fall prey to Kairi's accusations of abusing power if I indulged in petty revenge.

"The old you would've unleashed hell on them."

"No need to ruin their lives. With youth comes immaturity. They'll realize the error of their ways in due time." I hobbled over to one of them and kicked him forcefully in the stomach. He let out an appropriate yowl. "But with this, I'll call it even." I proceeded to kick the other three boys on the ground, each making a satisfying grunt of pain. It wasn't noble of me to attack a downed individual, but they were the ones who outnumbered me.

"This is why you should return. It's a jungle out here. What if they had weapons? Things could've been a lot worse."

"I agree with you, but I've still got unfinished business." I stepped out of that wretched alley and regained composure on the street. This was a consequence of attacking Seifer. I could crush him easily, but I would be no better than him. I was here to prove a difference. I wasn't like the rest of my ilk; I was better.

"Before you attend to your business, you need to see a doctor."

I spat out a bloody lump of saliva on the sidewalk. I spat again, decorating the ground with my spit until there was no more trace of blood in my mouth. "There's no time. I have to meet Kairi soon. Can you apply first aid?"

He grudgingly accepted and tended to my wounds, disinfecting and wrapping my injuries with bandages. As a bodyguard, he kept a medical kit on his person. I held an icepack against my eye. The cold gave me a headache.

"Once you've finished your business, go see a doctor. You're still my responsibility out here."

"Concerned for your job security?"

"It's because I care." He pointed his thumb towards the alley. "I'll clean up the mess here. You're free to go."

I trudged ahead slowly and caught my reflection in a shop window. I took a closer look. The damage was comprehensive. Their attack on me was derived from the expression, "leave no stone unturned." My face had swelled, distorting my features beyond recognition. My eyes were purple, my cheeks puffy, and my head flush with thin red lines.

Bandages were wrapped tightly around my forehead, arms, and body. Most of the damage was directed at my midsection. I lifted up my shirt, revealing a canvas of mottled yellow and purple skin. Cloud did his best, but it was clear I needed more care.

I soldiered on. Pain jolted through my body like lightning. It would be dull one moment and excruciating the next. It was a difficult walk. Occasionally, people would cast me worried glances and asked if I was okay. It hurt to answer so I merely nodded.

I didn't belong here. I was subject to the capricious whims of karma. Such novel concepts did not exist where I come from. The only thing that could deliver justice was power, and as long as I was here, I would never possess it.

I spotted the sign of L'Cie in the distance and made my way across the parking lot. I ignored the curious stares and lingering gazes. As Selphie promised, she was waiting by the entrance. I put away the icepack in my back pocket. She didn't recognize me until I called out to her.

"Selphie."

"Huh?" She turned to me and recoiled in horror. "Holy shit! What happened to you?"

"Seifer put a bounty on my head. Some goons tried to collect."

"Are you okay?" She examined me, her fingertips hovering above my injuries as if she was afraid to touch. "Maybe we should do this another time?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Where is she?"

"You're not gonna sweep her off her feet looking like that."

"I wasn't planning to."

She became suspicious. "Do you already have a girlfriend?" Did a fiancée count?

"If I did, would you still introduce me to Kairi?"

"I don't judge," she said, giggling. "But if you did, you'd have to dump her."

"I don't have one."

"Good." I had no intention of backing down. "If you still want to meet her, then I'll take you. I just don't think it's a good idea." On the contrary, these injuries might be a blessing in disguise since it'd help me with my…disguise. Dyed hair, colored contacts, and cheap clothes could only do so much. Nothing less than plastic surgery could alter the fundamental shape of my face—aside from a vicious beating.

We passed through the aisles of L'Cie. Selphie stared longingly at the shelves and racks, letting out a sigh steeped in material desire. "I wish I could afford all this. Hey, do you think this would look good on me?" She held a yellow blouse to her body.

"Of course."

She giggled at my compliment. She was acting too cavalier for an escort, especially for a client as beat up as myself. A little consideration would be appreciated, but she was lost to the fantasy of L'Cie. It was a little eye-opening for me. I viewed the products as containers of value as denoted by our currency. Clothes weren't expensive because they were valuable; they were valuable because they were expensive.

However, seeing Selphie's eyes light up altered my perspective slightly. Was she having fun? Was this experience in of itself, the true value of "shopping?" It felt equal parts genuine and manufactured. I'd taken many girls out on dates before. I bought them expensive trinkets and rags. They were delighted and flashed me practiced smiles, and in exchange, they satisfied my earthly desires. But here, Selphie looked, touched, with no expectation of acquiring them. She was merely content to watch.

She put down a skirt and turned to me. "I have a confession to make."

"What is it?"

"If you weren't already interested in Kairi, I'd take you for myself." She smiled deviously at my visible surprise. "She could use a guy like you, especially after all the crap she's had to go through at her new school."

"It's not like that."

"Oh, come on. You can't fool me. When you saw her, it was love at first sight, right? She's really cute. Anybody could see that."

I thought about protesting, but instead, resigned to the path of least resistance. "Point taken, Selphie. Maybe I like her, but I'm not doing myself any favors by looking like this. You said so yourself."

She refuted me. "It doesn't matter. Kairi's not superficial. If anything, she'll feel sorry for you. That's better than feeling nothing."

"When will I see her?"

"Real soon." We left through the back entrance of L'Cie, which opened to the rest of the shopping complex. It was an outdoor mall. Long buildings contained rows of boutiques and other specialty stores.

"Well, there she is." I was reminded of why I fell in love with her all over again. She was sitting on the edge of a raised concrete bowl. Inside was an arrangement of flowers, petals of all shapes and colors. They paled in comparison to her. She truly was beautiful, even if she was in the Academy's uniform. "Hey, Kairi!"

Selphie waved to her as we got close.

Kairi smiled at her friend. "Selphie" –then she saw me— "who's this" –her eyes widened— "Whoa, what happened to you?"

Selphie grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me as if that would make me any more presentable. "This was the guy I told you about, the one who stood up to Seifer? He's Van. I wanted to introduce you two."

Kairi frowned. It seemed this wasn't the first time Selphie tried to introduce someone to her. "Nice meeting you, Van." She put on a concerned face with a small grimace. "Are you okay?"

"It looks worse than it really is."

"I find that hard to believe. Selphie, can you come over here for a moment?" She turned to me apologetically. "We'll be back quick." They huddled on the other side of the flower bowl. Fortunately, the wind carried their whispers. "You didn't tell me about this. What does he want? Actually, he doesn't look like he's in any condition to—"

"Relax. He's here because he wants to be. I didn't force him. He's just wants to ask you some questions about your school. Help him out will you? The way I see it, he needs an out before Seifer gets him killed." Selphie swung around the bowl and winked. "Alright, it's time for me to go. You kids have fun now!" She ran off.

"Wait! Damn it, that girl…" Kairi gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, Selphie can be—" She squinted. "Have we met before?"

"No." I took out the ice pack and pressed it against my eye. I didn't want to give myself away.

"Well, if you'd excuse me—"

"Wait." I couldn't let this chance slip away. "Since we're both here, why don't we just get something to eat?"

She was about to decline when her stomach grumbled. Her cheeks reddened. "I don't mind but… Are you sure you can you eat?"

"I'll get something with a straw."

"Is there anything like that?"

"It's called a smoothie." She hadn't thought of that. "Let's find a table. I've got some questions about the Academy, if you don't mind answering."

At the mention of the word "Academy," I noticed her jaw tighten, but only momentarily. She eased into a pleasant demeanor smoothly. "No. I don't mind."

We found a café and seated ourselves outdoors under an awning. The table and chairs were made out of hard plastic. A rectangular rail separated the café from the sidewalk. The waitress arrived and stared at me until I coughed. Having recovered her wits, she apologized and handed us the menus. We both ordered water to start with. I looked over the menu and found the Drinks section. A frozen peach-mango-banana smoothie sounded good.

"About the elephant in the room…" She kept her eyes on the menu and avoided my eyes. Out of politeness, perhaps?

"Seifer put a bounty on me."

Her fingers grip the menu tightly. "Are you sure you're okay? Once you piss him off, there'll be no end to it."

She gave me a good excuse. "That's why I've been looking into transferring."

"You want to go to the Academy?"

"I heard it was the best."

"There are very strict requirements for entry."

"My grades are not a problem."

She closed the menu and folded her hands together. She leaned on them with her forehead. "This was supposed to be a lunch with Selphie. Sorry, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not dumb. If you really are looking to transfer, you should know that it's impossible right now. This is just an excuse for a date, isn't it?"

She always was sharp. But I was sharper. "Transfers into the Academy during mid-semester are incredibly rare, I know, but it isn't without precedent. As long as the proper conditions are met, a transfer is possible. I've looked over the requirements and believe me, I meet every possible qualification, including an impeccable GPA, recommendations from academic staff, and an endorsement from someone on the Academy Board."

"Oh…" She covered her face in embarrassment. "You really are... Ugh, sorry about that. It's just, Selphie has tried to set me up in the past before so… I'm really sorry about this."

"It's okay. I just wanted to know what the Academy is like."

"It's what'd you expect from a big name school. People are stiff but the lectures are top class."

"I heard you encountered some trouble."

"Did Selphie tell you? Most of the students there come from rich families. I transferred in on a scholarship. They tend to look down on us because of that. I put up with it because there was something I needed to know."

"Did—" The waitress arrived and put down two glasses of water.

"Thank you," Kairi said.

"Are you two ready to order?"

"I'll take the peach-mango-banana smoothie."

"Alright." The waitress scribbled in her notepad and turned to Kairi. "And for you?"

"I'll have the Albacore Tuna Sandwich combo, please."

"Great! I'll take your menus and I'll be back soon with your orders." We handed them to her and she left. The waitress' interruption left a lull in our conversation. Condensation from the icepack dripped down my face. I cleared my throat.

"You said you needed to know something. What was it?"

She looked off to the side wistfully. "It's nothing."

I lost the opportunity to find out. "Sorry for prying."

"Don't worry about it."

"Did you at least find what you were looking for?"

She shook her head. "No. I got distracted. One of the students targeted me. He was a real jerk, but he came from one of the most powerful families in the world. He made school hell for me." I squeezed the icepack tightly. I was under no illusion about my past, but to hear it from the victim herself hurt more than these physical injuries. It was an indictment of who I used to be. "It's funny. After all the suffering he put me through last year, he just up and disappears. I heard he's attending some prestigious school overseas."

"Do you hate him?"

"I don't." That small shred of hope was dashed by her next statement. "But I can't forgive him either. He represents everything I despise about this world. As long as you're rich, you can get away with anything. I know it's not fair to him but his kind don't understand the hardship we have to go through." She faced me suddenly, having worked up the courage. I wanted to look away. I saw sympathy. "You've experienced it firsthand, haven't you? Seifer and them, they're all the same. As long as they can get away with it, they'll continue abusing their power forever."

The waitress returned with our orders. I slipped the straw between my teeth and sucked in the fruity beverage. It hurt my mouth, but it tasted good.

"You ever forget why you do things in the first place?" she asked.

"All the time." She was the reason I became Van, but ever since becoming Van, Kairi had taken a backseat to everything that was happening around me. It took me this long to get a meeting with her, and now that I was here, I felt strangely ambivalent. The Kairi before me wasn't the fierce tigress from memory. This one was a lost kitten.

"When I first applied for the transfer, I was rejected." She looked at the sandwich on the table, pondering whether to eat it with her hands or a fork. She settled on the latter. "I met all the requirements except one: an endorsement from someone on the board. That's why I was really surprised last year when I heard someone recommended me." She gobbled the sandwich with impressive speed.

"Do you know who it was?"

"It was an anonymous benefactor. I've been trying to find out this entire time but… No luck." She swallowed the last bite, leaving the fork in her mouth as some sort post-meal ritual. She finally took it out and set it down. "That was the biggest obstacle for me. I didn't have any connections, but it seems like you've already secured that."

I finished my smoothie. The waitress came with the check. I reached for my pocket on reflex but remembered who I was. "You want to split the cost?" Asking that hurt my pride.

She nodded.

We returned to our initial meeting spot. "Thanks for meeting with me, even if that wasn't part of your plan for today."

She shook her head. "It's fine. I had a nice time, but I'm still going to scold Selphie for it. Take care of those injuries, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm off."

I always knew it was possible for Kairi to be a nice and warm girl, but it was jarring in a way. From the day we met, she resisted fiercely, giving me nothing less than intense ire. If we had only met under different circumstances…

I returned home and found a gift waiting on my doorstep—painkillers, courtesy of Cloud. I swallowed them quickly. I didn't realize how much pain I was in until relief flooded my body. I lay on the couch with my eyes closed, ruminating on today's events. Having been away from her for so long, my feelings had cooled significantly. They were still there, but they no longer burned with obsession. It had been tempered by my experiences as Van.

If I went back to being Sora, what would that mean for everybody in Van's life? The thought of abandoning them made me sick. I couldn't be Van forever though. One way or another, Van would eventually disappear.

The door opened and a familiar scent crept in. It was the smell of the Guardian Grill. I opened my eyes and greeted Yuffie as best I could. "Hey..."

"Holy fudge cakes, what happened to you?" She jumped in for a closer look. Her lip trembled with rage. "Who was it? I'll go beat them up right now!"

"Nobodies. They weren't from our school, I think. I've never seen them before." She looked like she was going to cry. "Calm down. I'm okay now."

"Bunch of cowards." She bit her lower lip. "It was Seifer, wasn't it?"

"Not directly. He put a price on my head."

"Son of a—that asshole pisses me off! I wish I could've knocked him out myself."

"I appreciate you getting angry for me, but can you keep it down? I'm trying to recover." The icepack had long since lost effectiveness, but I kept it on my eye out of habit.

"Sorry... I'm just—I'm worried about you."

"Thanks, but in some ways, I'm sort of the last person you should worry about." I was a Hikari.

"Hogwash. I'll worry about you whether you want me to or not. We're friends, and that's that." I tried not to show it, but hearing that made me really happy.

"I know."

Someone knocked on the door. "I'll go get that. Wouldn't want to scare off the visitors," she joked.

"I don't look that bad. It's probably just the kids from the orphanage anyways."

"Exactly. I don't want them to cry when they see you." She opened the door. "Whaddya want?" I smirked. Gotta love her sense of hospitality. "You've got the wrong house, girl. There's no Sora here."

I shot up immediately and faced the visitor. Who could—

"Hello. I was looking for you, dear fiancé."

She was the last person I wanted to see.

Naminé.

AN: Nothing much to say except that I'm excited for the upcoming Destiny Beta for the PS4. Thanks for reading and leave a filling review that I can munch on.