X. Reunion

Vanille gazed at the forest's green canopy as the rain stopped. She looked down at her arms, wrapped around Bhakti protectively to prevent it from getting wet and as a result short-circuited.

She found it hard to keep track with time flow once she left the comfort of civilisation, but Bhakti's programming had been excellent at keeping her feet at the ground. It beamed a small hologram of a clock, showing it was 3:54 in the afternoon and the displayed date revealed it had been a day since they left the Temple.

While Bhakti's map programme kept her from being lost, the robot was not hi-tech enough to sense nearly human and monster presence. In other words, she had to depend on her luck if she wanted to find anyone, or to avoid monsters. Vanille felt at the Binding Rod attached to her belt. So far she had encountered zero monsters but she also had not found any of the lost hunters. The former was a great relief, and she wondered if there was fal'Cie magic in the thing that was keeping away monsters?

The hologram disappeared and Bhakti's eyes turned into a blinking blue, indicating confusion and worry. Realising that Bhakti had sensed her thoughts, Vanille patted its head.

"No, silly you. Of course I'm not upset at you or anything. You are fine as it is! I love you and that will never change, and no hi-tech bot will ever be able to replace you," she said reassuringly.

Bhakti's eyes returned to its normal red and it blinked rapidly in elatedness. It hopped down from Vanille's arms and danced about excitedly, making her giggle in amusement. It was a gift her parents had given her when she was five years old. Her memories of them were vague, but she remembered they loved her very much. They deeply loved Oerba too, and they would often devote much time into the community, and Bhakti was purchased from a city tourist so she could have a companion. Vanille never lacked friends, but Bhakti was a special one. It was a reminder of her parents' love for her, and proof that they once existed.

She looked up again, and through the canopy saw Cocoon. Its altitude was the closest to Oerba, and one could see it much clearer from the village. War with Cocoon killed many people, including her parents. The war killed Fang's parents too, and though she never talked about them, Vanille knew she never forgot. Fang was older than she was by two years, and had more memories of the war that stole so many lives away. But the topic was rarely touched on because it brought back bad memories that Vanille remembered little of.

Vanille always felt a little guilty about that. Was it bad not to hate Cocoon? Was it bad not to remember? If her parents knew, would they blame her for not remembering, and for having a lack of hatred for the enemies who had killed them and taken them away from their most beloved child?

Loud roars and shrieks echoed through the forest, stunning Vanille out of her thoughtful trance. Bhakti became silent as it scuttled back to Vanille's feet. Picking him up and holding him with an arm, she pulled out the Binding Rod. The sounds were distant, but she was nervous and fearful that the monsters could be running toward her direction.

She observed the surroundings nervously and moved cautiously. If only Fang was here… no! What if Fang ran into those monsters? Vanille began to shudder at those thoughts. Part of her wanted to run away and back to the Temple. She would be yelled at and probably punished by the adults, but at least she would be safe. The other part of her, however, wanted her to go on and look for Fang, an act that could get her killed.

Vanille had many friends, but none was like Fang. Despite her occasional teases, Fang was the only one who accepted her for all she was, including her horrible sleeping habits. Because they shared similar backgrounds as well as a bed, they grew close and became the best of friends. They were always together, so much that Reeve once taunted they were like conjoined twins.

"You are only holding her back."

The forest seemed to tremble as another round of roars and shrieks echoed, stabbing right into Vanille's heart. She collapsed onto the ground, her legs too weak from fear to even stand.

/ I should go back… Fang's a fighter… she would be okay… /

"Yes… let's… let's go back to the Temple…" she muttered. She had been foolish in deciding to run out just like that. She should have listened to Latila. It was simply too dangerous, especially for a defenseless twelve-year-old. She might have the Binding Rod, but she did not even know how to use it.

"Beep?" Bhakti looked at its mistress, its red eyes blinking slowly as though in confusion.

Vanille suddenly felt like a cold gust of wind had punched through her stomach, and before she even realised it she had started running toward the direction from where the sounds came from. Her tears flowed freely, her heart in turmoil. She wanted to run away, but her legs would not obey the commands of her mind that was sending out danger alert signals.

She ran faster, when the roars ceased and became a loud scream instead. She recognised the voice, and that drove her on, even when her mind kept telling her to run away to safety. It was a cry of danger from a voice she could neither ignore nor resist.

She kept running, until her heart could take it no longer and she drew to a painful stop. She crushed onto her knees, and squeezed at her chest. Bhakti gripped tightly onto her tank top to prevent itself from falling off her weakened hold.

The forest had long gone silent, except for the sounds of fluttering wings from the alarmed flying species. But she knew where to go.

Unable to even stand and walk, Vanille dropped Bhakti and started to crawl. Her mind was a blank and her eyes would not stop tearing, as she crawled to the body lying ahead.

Lying flat on her back, Fang appeared to be asleep except for her bloody face, and her body was covered with several scratches, clawing and biting wounds. There also was a nasty gash across her abdomen, which was bleeding profusely.

Vanille cradled Fang's head in her arms and broke down, a pain searing in her heart.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…!" she cried, as feelings of agony and remorse and a deep sense of loss assaulted her.

"So sorry!" she wept, but she knew that no words could bring Fang back. She knew it all along, that Fang had become an irreplaceable existence to her, but she had allowed Fang to go, to die. Vanille hated herself right then; how she thought of abandoning Fang to her own devices and how she only cared about her own skin, when Fang had always protected her.

"How deplorable."

Her fists tightened, clutching handfuls of Fang's hair, and their foreheads touched. How could she ever forgive herself for this? How could she ever make up for this? Nothing! Punishment was swift; she felt she had lost an integral part of herself, and that she will never be complete again. The seeds that she sowed…

"Oww…."

The wince surprised Vanille. Her eyes widened but she dared not look lest it be her own imagination. The pain of re-acknowledging a hard truth would be unbearable.

"Let go of my hair… and take your face away, will you? Let me have some breathing space…"

Vanille jerked up, and was stunned to see a pair of beautiful green eyes staring at her. Fang wanted to wave "hello", but lacked the strength to move. Overwhelmed by a rush of feelings, Vanille cried out loud as she hugged Fang's head.

Warmth spreads throughout Fang's cold body as Vanille hugged her tearfully. Single tears rolled from Fang's half-closed eyes, as they stared up at the forest's canopy. She could not help but smile.