The rain pattered relentlessly against the living room window as Kadaj watched from inside his small Nibelheim apartment. His inhabitance was dull and dreary, like the surrounding village, but it was necessary.
Days ago Sephiroth had contacted him, asking if they could meet and discuss a business partnership. Kadaj had not yet informed Loz or Yazoo. He did not want them involved in his personal affairs any more. Because the brothers had been forced together for so many years, their presence had become stifling to each other, and Kadaj carried the blistering awareness of his difference from them. Things were easier for his brothers. They had not been through what he had been through. Maybe, because of that, he and his father would see eye to eye.
As the doorbell rang, Kadaj took a deep breath. Then, he hoisted himself from his seat and trudged towards the front door, unlocking and answering it. Sephiroth stood under the porch overhang, wringing out his black umbrella in savage bursts of movement. "Is something wrong, father?" asked Kadaj, but Sephiroth snickered in response before scowling.
"I've been barred from visiting Hojo," the man finally elaborated. "Why, I do not know. And the old man and his ambassador he seems to adore so much… sometimes I wonder just how close they really are, how low that little shit bends his back..." Sephiroth snorted at his thoughts while his son turned away from him, wrinkling his nose in disgust. The man once famed for his intellect and bravery now consisted of mere wisps of his former glory.
"Trust does not equate to…" began Kadaj, but then trailed off, pursing his lips in discomfort. But his father finished the sentence for him. "Sex?" tried the man. Kadaj averted his gaze in distaste once more, and Sephiroth snickered before he took a seat in Kadaj's armchair, getting comfortable before he continued his mission statement. "I did not come to complain," Sephiroth murmured, "I wondered if you wanted to help me." In return, Kadaj's eyes lifted with a cool glance, meeting with those of the man sitting across from him.
"Since you do happen to be my eldest son and I do happen to be the new Head of Shinra, I wondered if you were interested in becoming my right hand man," Sephiroth drawled. "Then you'd know the ropes when I got too old to head the company anymore." To this, Kadaj imagined himself sitting at the great oaken desk that swallowed the room of the former President of Shinra Corporations. The scene took Kadaj's breath, and an uncharacteristic smile played across his features as he replied, "that would be wonderful," nodding his head in affirmation.
In reply Sephiroth clenched and unclenched his fists, his mind working with thoughts of the future, and of his bitterness. "With you and me side by side, we can eventually put down the old man," He sneered in a sudden hiss, surprising Kadaj. He thought that Sephiroth had great respect for Xehanort. After all, the man had gotten him out of a sizeable jail sentence.
"I don't like people treating me like a pet," hissed Sephiroth, responding unconsciously to Kadaj's mental questioning. "That's what he thinks of me as! A stupid dog… a pup that he can kick around. A poster child!" As the list went on further, Sephiroth's fists clenched and unclenched harder, until he stood from his chair and paced, wiping his long fingers across his mouth. "I think that I need to pay a visit to Hojo," He added, as if the thought just entered his head, but Kadaj immediately weighed the disadvantages. "Please remember the implications that plan would spawn," he reasoned, as Sephiroth stared out the window into the town that he had once destroyed. "He is under custody of the Investigation Bureau, walking in on enemy territory-"
"-Means I've got nothing to hide," finished Sephiroth for Kadaj, ending the conversation. It was apparent that the older man would not be reasoned with.
"What do you want to discover?" Kadaj asked after a short pause of thought. Sephiroth shrugged. "The old man was talking about him. And if he was talking about it, it must be important." There was silence as Sephiroth formulated what he would say next while Kadaj waited, and when the older man had decided, he cleared his throat and turned to face his son once more, the angle of light from the window casting shadow across the right side of his face but bathing the other in strong grey light. "But I will need your help, as I said before," murmured Sephiroth, and Kadaj nodded. Then, the young man's father chuckled and clapped his hands in affected adulation.
"The old man has taken interest in you as well," Sephiroth explained, but Kadaj was silent with misunderstanding.
"You do know that the Investigation Bureau is trying to find a trail that leads to me, right?" Sephiroth chuckled, and Kadaj nodded again. "Well, it seems they've got a bit of information on me that I'd rather they didn't decipher," continued the older man.
"What do you mean, sir?" Kadaj asked in return. Though Sephiroth was quiet at first, rage contorted his face, and he pursed his lips in decision. Then, his glowering eyes met with those of his son, and he stepped towards him with silence. "I need to tell you a little bit about myself first, about my past. This is confidential," he added in a hiss. Kadaj did not respond.
"I was born of a scientist named Lucrecia Crescent," Sephiroth began, "and Hojo was my father. When I was a year old I was put under experimentation in an endeavor titled 'Project S'. I was subjected to this ordeal, never able to see the light of day, until I was thirteen years old, when my memories of my time in captivity were wiped. I became a 1st class SOLDIER, and was respected as a hero. Years later, my team and myself received a mission that led us to Nibelheim. Upon discovering the old experimentation labs used under Project S, pieces of my memory returned to me. I escaped to Shinra Mansion, where I gathered information on where I came from, and in my ensuing rage destroyed everything. Unfortunately, a few people saw what I did," He finished, shrugging, "The man who witnessed the most was a young SOLDIER, just eighteen years old at the time, named Zack Fair."
"Aerith's fiancé," Kadaj gasped in reply, to which Sephiroth groaned and rubbed his temple before answering in the affirmative before adding, "Who is also under custody of the Investigation Bureau. But that is not the point," continued the man, waving his hand away from his face in dismissal. "His memory of the Incident was wiped by Shinra many years ago with the use of a set of special code words."
"And if repeated in his presence," Kadaj replied, "will those code words return his memory?" to which Sephiroth responded with a scowl of affirmation.
"What are they?" Kadaj asked, but Sephiroth shot him a suspicious glance before continuing, "It's 'Cetra's Hand'", with a dark chuckle. "Apparently I said it to Zack in passing when we were in the labs. But, a few weeks ago, a few cronies from the BI did a little bit of a 'secret inspection' of a Shinra file burning operation and retrieved the file with the code. If they get Zack to remember what I did," Sephiroth hissed, "things are going to look very bad for me."
In ponderous silence Kadaj twiddled his thumbs and waited for his father to continue, but the man sat against the corner of his living room wall and seethed, unable to speak. So, his son cleared his throat, adding, "well, if you made a case to escape jail despite your crimes, can't you make a case against this?"
Xehanort has informed me that he 'll relinquish support if I misstep," hissed Sephiroth in reply, and Kadaj looked away. The man before him was stolid, useless as a stone. But he possessed a benefactor of great interest to his son. "I will help you," the young man mumbled. "That's great," responded Sephiroth. Then, he stood and headed for the door. "We will move you to an apartment in Midgar so you can be closer to us. I'll have to have you act as a bit of an agent."
In curiosity Kadaj glanced up, his fingertips running cold when he noted his father's sly grin. "You know the enemy," his father sneered. "Make friends with Sora's dad. Get a little bit of information out of him. Maybe the kid knows something," added the man with a shrug. Then his eyes fell to slits as he took in Kadaj's frame. "You're certainly cute enough to make him open up for you," the man added in a murmur. But as he turned and opened the door, Kadaj hurried towards him and stopped his progress, staring him down in defiance.
"Just remember, father," hissed the boy, letting the last word slip like acid spit from his tongue. "I will not prostitute my qualities for your benefit. I said I would help you, nothing more." When he moved away from his father, Sephiroth stepped closer to him and touched the young man on the arm. In response, his opponent recoiled and backed into the living room center, where he folded his shaking hands into his pockets and stared at the ground.
"Calm down, Kadaj," Sephiroth murmured in between stifled snickers. But then his face grew serious with memory, and he fell silent before responding, "I know Hojo did something to you, as well. I can see it in your face," He added, pointing to Kadaj's eyes. Then, the older man's face softened. "Every day, I see it in the mirror."
In reply Kadaj shook his head, folding in on himself when he felt his father's shadow cast over him. "Do you think you are helping me?" hissed the young man finally, fidgeting though he had resolved not to move. "I got over it," continued the boy, hissing, "I don't want to talk about it." Before he held his hand up in a weak attempt to forbid his father's footsteps. From his downturned eyes, Kadaj observed his father's halted feet, slightly turned out, slightly shuffling. Then, a strong grip descended on his shoulder and the young man looked up in shock, meeting eyes with the face of his father, whose teeth were gritted in anger. "People like us must confide in each other!" the man growled, adding, "the last thing people like us need is to be alone." And with a final shake of the young man's shoulder, he let his son go, watching as the young man lurched away from his grip and settled into the confines of the room's far wall.
"I'm better," gasped Kadaj as he clung to the shadowed wallpaper behind him. Then, yet he bolted forward with great speed, his father had only to throw his arm in front of the boy's path to stop his escape. Silent with shock, Kadaj was pinned to the front hall wall, where Sephiroth shook him by the shoulders and forced the boy to look at him.
"You will never get better!" snarled the older man, jabbing at Kadaj's chest in accusation. "Trust me, I know! You think you have adapted because you feel happy and you've made friends. But then you begin to feel the same mistrust and resentment that haunted your actions before, returning! When you are alone with yourself, you realize that the misconceptions you've built around your true situation are weak as paper! You'll kill yourself if you do not accept the truth!" he shouted, but Kadaj refused to meet his eyes. "You need someone like you," Sephiroth hissed. When his son did not respond, the older man pushed him against the wall once more before releasing him from his grip. Then he departed the house, slamming the door behind him as he left.
As the sound of Sephiroth's car disappeared, replaced by the patter of heavy rain, Kadaj held his heart and panted for breath, closing his eyes in an attempt to facilitate a return to composure.
"I cannot work with that man," Kadaj thought to himself, "He'll destroy me. I'm too fragile." But as the thought of being the right hand man to the great Master Xehanort crossed his mind, his eyes narrowed and he thought over his condition. He wondered if Sephiroth's maliciousness was a mere hunger, a need to devour. There was nothing worth redeeming in the man, and even Kadaj, who was mostly ignorant to the situation his father had become a part of, could sense that the older man's time would run out soon. But he could not condemn the man just yet. What of the family that he had dreamed of so long?
The only problem that sat with him was that of the Director's son, Sora. He knew the boy and he knew his friends. Kadaj had never betrayed a friend before. Sudden thoughts of the girl Naminé drifted into his head, wonderings about her current condition. He had not received word of her since the first summer party at Aerith's. Yet she, too, would feel the pain of betrayal brought about by Kadaj's future interactions with Sora and with Xehanort, because of her friendship to the boy. Kadaj hoped that when they met once more, it would be on better terms.
….
Naminé observed Xion as the dark haired girl prepared for their court case that morning. Her companion crossed about her surroundings with a heavy tread, one that betrayed a lack of confidence hidden by impulsive movements. Though the girl's eyes were dark, they shone bright, and she smiled with a sureness Naminé hoped was real, but knew had little grounding in reality. Once Xion had smoothed her hair back and pinned her fringe to the side, she turned to the blond girl and set her hands on her hips. "Are we ready to go?" she asked in a breathy sigh, and Naminé nodded in return, reaching for her purse, which was set at the side of the door. "Right," Xion sighed with a quick nod of her head, and pushed past Naminé towards the staircase. Once there, Cid assisted them in their passage to the living room, where two cops stood waiting. When the policemen noticed the girls descending the stairs, they both held their hands out to be shaken, and the girls greeted them one by one before the cops addressed Cid. A haze clouded Naminé's senses so that she did not register their speech, but Xion's ears were perked like those of a fox. Her sharp eyes darted from one man to the next, observing and calculating in silence.
"Well," Cid breathed, turning to Naminé and Xion with a pitying smile, though he attempted to mask it with bright inflection, "Are you two ready to go?" The girls nodded in return, and Cid gave leave to the police agents, who took the girls by the arms and led them to the cop car perched outside the house. Once inside, they were whisked towards Disney City, where they would await trail in the lobby of Disney Castle, the same venue that had given Naminé her freedom two years ago. It was amazing how quickly it could be taken away. The state had granted a lawyer to the girls because they could not fund their own, due to the fact that Naminé's accounts had been frozen until she provided ample proof of her adulthood. Yet, neither of the girls possessed a valid birth certificate. As they both ascended the Disney Castle stairs and walked in towards their allotted courtroom, Naminé felt Xion's strong hand on her shoulder. When she turned to face her companion, she saw that Xion's face was sure. The girl even winked. "We have nothing to worry about," she murmured, which made Naminé smile and mutter in return, "I don't know yet." But Xion shook her head as they seated themselves at the head of their room. "Even if we do get kicked out of this place, we could be nomads again!" she whispered with shining eyes. "We'll have the whole world to ourselves!" Xion glanced out the window and sighed in reverie, watching the sun that was high in the sky. Then Naminé noticed her companion's trembling hands.
Their lawyer, a balding man of about forty-five, entered next, chewing aimlessly at a piece of fried okra from a Styrofoam take-away box. He nodded at them as he sat down, and Xion gritted her teeth in anticipation. When she and Naminé had met with him the night before the trial, she had been shocked. The girl had never expected a man like this would become their representation in court.
Marluxia was seated at the table across from them, relaxed and bored. But when Naminé glanced around at the witnesses being called in, Naminé's fingers went cold as she noticed the headmistress of her old boarding school staring at her over red-rimmed, cat-eye glasses. The woman's outfit looked like it was cut out of a history book, it's long thick collar buttoning up to the tip of the woman's receding chin. Naminé was sure a corset lay hidden beneath the torso's depths. When the young girl examined the witnesses further, she noticed both physicians of her orphanages, a nurse, and the girl from the bank who she talked with frequently. But a bang of the gavel from the head of the room redirected Naminé's attention, and the judge ahead lifted up his hands.
"This court is now called into session," announced the old man, and everyone stood up. While the witnesses were led away, the lawyers stood up to make their opening statements. Marluxia's lawyer checked his stopwatch before he stood, and cleared his throat as he gripped his paperwork in his hands. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, the double doors leading into the courtroom opened again. At their center walked in an old man supported by a thin, gold rimmed black cane, and a silence descended over the whole of the room as he stepped forth before the judge's desk. His feet stopped right before the judge, and the old man bowed as the double doors at his back closed with a resounding thud. When he raised his head again, the gentleman chuckled, murmuring, "excuse my tardiness," in a voice filled with gravel. It was at this moment that Naminé grew intensely aware of his identity, while Xion stared at the old key blade master in befuddlement. Then her eyes led her around the rest of the room. Beside her Naminé felt as though her heart would beat from her chest to the floor. Marluxia stared back at his old benefactor in deep confusion as well, and fear. The old man glanced back with narrowed, snake yellow eyes.
"Let us continue with our open statements," murmured the judge, and the room nodded as the old man seated himself in one of the front rows of the audience aisles. After statements were completed the prosecution stepped up to the stand. Their first witness was a nurse, who concluded by examination that Xion was the same age as Naminé. They then called up Naminé's physician from L'Académie. He was a handsome man, albeit with a distinct, artificial look about him.
"So, Naminé came to L'Académie Pour Les Petite Débutantes how many years ago?" Marluxia's lawyer asked.
"She was moved into our orphanage when she was very young," responded the physician with a forlorn sigh. "She had a little child's face."
Naminé pursed her lips, wondering what else they would ask him. She thought that she knew what was coming.
"Did she begin her period while at L'Académie?"
The physician glanced at Naminé. Then he returned his gaze to the lawyer. "No," he said, and Naminé gaped. It was a downright lie. She remembered when she'd gotten it as clear as day. She'd ran crying to one of the nurses, because she thought that she had been dying, and the physician had told her to get out, and that she was disgusting. One of her board mates had to tell her what was happening and let her borrow her toiletries. That had been during her last year there, when thoughts of running away plagued her mind. Naminé remembered with distinction, writing letters to the Academy for permission to receive 'monthly materials for ladies', as they called them. Where were those letters filed, she wondered. From that moment on, the physician's words translated to dribble when they reached Naminé's ears. Instead of listening, she glanced towards Xion, who stared dead ahead with wide, determined eyes. The black haired girl pressed her thumb and forefinger into the sides of her other fingers as she exhaled deep breaths. But when her eyes caught Naminé's, she gave an awkward smile and averted her gaze, back to the current witness, who was now being replaced by Naminé's old headmistress.
Once the woman took her vow of honesty and became comfortable in her witness box seat, she was questioned about Naminé's behavior. The woman spoke of how untrustworthy Naminé had been and about her propensity for trouble, citing that Naminé ran away from the school for ladies and became a tramp at the mere age of eleven. "Girls who become like that at such a young age do not get better without severe assistance," pontificated the woman in conclusion, eyeing Naminé before she was called back to the witness room. As the older woman left, Xion looked over at Naminé in surprise.
Then, Naminé and Xion's defense stood up. Their witnesses were themselves, and the physicians and caretaker from The Orphanage That Never Was. Their lawyer blubbered through several lines of questioning before he returned to his seat and resumed chewing on his friend okra, and while he sat back in his seat in a befuddled daze, Marluxia's lawyer cross-examined. The suave man made a point of citing the ignorance of the physicians from The Orphanage That Never Was when they said that they believed Naminé was, indeed, eighteen years old from her medical examinations. Their lack of a doctorate in their field made them easy targets for questions regarding their education, and they quickly became defensive when Marluxia's lawyer suggested they were unfit for their job titles. By the time the old caretaker hobbled up to the stand, she was livid on behalf of her colleagues. When the woman suggested that Naminé's untrustworthiness and escape from L'Académie was due to mistreatment from the staff, gasps rang throughout the courtroom as its inhabitants gossiped about the burst of insolence.
"No further questioning," chuckled Marluxia's lawyer, after which the old caretaker was led away from the stand and into the witness' chamber. Then, the assembly was seated for the closing remarks and the judge's final decision. A long wait ensued as the lawyers spoke one last time, and as the judge interacted with a doctor on hand. Once the doctor trudged away and the judge turned his face to the assembly, the gavel was thudded against the sounding block and the inhabitants of the room rose to their feet in anticipation. Xion was almost floating in front of her chair, standing on her tiptoes in anxiety as the judge ahead shuffled paperwork and set them down before him.
"Through careful medical examination and circumstantial evidence," the judge cried across the courtroom, "we have concluded that the girls, Naminé and Xion, last names unknown, are at this point in time, 14 years old." As the great gavel in his hand thudded against the sounding block once more, Naminé felt as though stars had burst on the lines of her vision. She began to feel ill, and clutched to the edges of the table in front of her for support as the judge continued his remarks. Marluxia's lawyer smiled at his client as the judge continued, but Xion darted her head from the judge to her own lawyer, as if the words being spoken were a joke, and the real verdict would be relayed soon after everyone had been given a moment to laugh.
"The girls have been deemed not able to support themselves until they are proven to be 18 years of age, which will be in four years," continued the judge.
Naminé tried not to cry, instead forcing herself to be strong. She could not act like the little girl she had been two years ago. Suddenly, as an idea struck her she jumped up and raising her hand in the air to get the judge's attention. When he looked in her direction, she blurted out, "May I ask anyone else if they want to adopt me? Besides Marluxia?" added Naminé, and the judge chuckled with incredulity. "You're getting ahead of yourself a little bit, aren't you?" he joked, causing Naminé to purse her lips in bottled anger. She was not the young billionaire she had been before. Now, she was just a fourteen-year-old child once more.
"You have till tomorrow to get an adoption together," the judge responded. "Until then you will both be in custody of a guard who will accompany you wherever you need to go. If you cannot organize an adoption, you will be sent to an orphanage. Our next meeting will be at 3 o'clock tomorrow, in room 233."
Naminé nodded in return, and a strange calmness washed over her. "May I use the restroom?" she said, feeling the warmth of tears as they streamed down her cheeks. In pity, the judge replied, "Yes, yes, you may go," and Naminé nodded again, walking out of the courtroom with Xion's curious eyes on her back. Footsteps echoed behind her as she walked, and as Naminé stared over her shoulder she met glance with a male security guard who had been sent after her. The guard nodded at her, and Naminé nodded back, before turning around and continuing towards the bathroom. When she reached the bathroom door, she excused herself from the guard's side and the man bowed, allowing her privacy as she went inside. "I'll try not to take to long," Naminé added with affected desolation, and the guard nodded again as Naminé shut the bathroom door behind her. Once inside the room, she trudged towards the mirror and wiped her face. There was only one person joining her in the toilet, and that was a woman in the third stall. Soon the toilet flushed, though, and the woman washed her hands and departed, leaving Naminé alone in the chamber, examining herself in the mirror. As the woman's footsteps disappeared down the hall outside the room, Naminé's eyes darted to the window at her side and she breathed a sigh of relief.
With silent footsteps she flew towards it and looked out of its frame onto the ground below. She stood three stories above the grassed area surrounding this part of Disney Castle, but a window to the floor below her was open. Naminé thought that it would be better to go through that, rather than jumping all the way to the ground. Or, she could just attempt to inch her way to the bottom of the building in one piece.
As Naminé inched out from the window she exhaled a deep breath and turned herself around. Then, she lowered herself down until she was dangling by her fingertips from the bathroom windowsill, her shoes two feet above the overhang below. Shutting her eyes and then opening them in anticipation, Naminé let go of the window she held, and landed on the windowsill below her, grabbing the underside of its windowpane with her fingers so that she did not topple over. After a moment's rest she repeated these steps until she landed on a bed of grass.
For a moment she caught her breath and steadied it, touching her hand to her heart as she knelt down with trembling hands. With one last look up at the window, she pursed her lips and blew out a sigh of relief. But as she glanced around her, and noticed the hordes of flowers lining her grassed path forward, she panicked in realization of where she had landed. This was King Mickey's garden.
With a groan she contemplated hiding under the bush of fluffy pink flowers to her left as long as she could manage. But when she heard the King's voice mere paces from her feet, she charged into a bed of blue and peeked out from inside their walls, wringing her hands in her white dress, as the King's chattering grew nearer.
"The hydrangeas are looking gorgeous, Minnie!" sighed Mickey as he stepped forward, his arm hooked around that of his wife.
"Well, the gardener is doing a great job, Mickey!" replied his wife affectionately, and Naminé clenched her fists in jealousy and fear. But as she shuffled about in discomfort, the garden around her grew silent. The wind held its breath, and Naminé stopped breathing herself as her eyes darted back and forth in wonder. Then, the king's light footsteps padded forward, and Naminé screamed as the bush she hid behind was forced aside with surprising strength. When the girl looked up and met the fierce gaze of the king, her eyes grew wide in fright while his softened. Realizing whom the girl before him was, King Mickey softened, giving a light chuckle as he shook his shoulders and patted Naminé's arm. Behind him, his wife peered over his shoulder in an attempt to see what was going on.
"What are you doing back here, Naminé?" the king asked with masked suspicion, but Naminé shrugged in reply, thinking of what she could tell him. Then she breathed out and tried to relax.
"King Mickey?" she asked, and the King looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I want you to take over the business I have going. I mean, rather, stop the payments," She elaborated, gulping. "Why?" King Mickey said in shocked reply, but Naminé shook her head. "I'd rather not have my money taken from me, and especially by a man that I really do not like," she elaborated, wondering with immediate fear if she'd said too much. But ahead of her King Mickey pursed his lips. Naminé watched as Queen Minnie hurried towards the castle, and silence overfell the remaining pair, as they stayed rooted in place, beside the blue hydrangeas Naminé had taken home in moments before. Then, taking advantage of the atmosphere, the girl sighed and looked into Mickey's eyes.
"King?" she asked, and the man before her nodded. "How did you make it with nothing?" she continued. To this, King Mickey chuckled and folded his hands into his pockets. "I had a lot of hope in my heart," he murmured, putting his forefinger up to make a point. "That's the most important thing! You've got to be brave, or everything will go wrong!" He added. Then, he sighed, reminiscing. "My old boss Pete still calls me the 'boat boy king'! I've come far! If only I could make everything better for everyone here…" Naminé shrugged in reply, responding, "I'm sure things will come out alright." Though, Naminé wasn't sure if she believed that statement herself. Then the point of the interaction came to her mind.
"Um, I was also wondering," murmured the girl with a sweet smile, "If you could let me out?" In return King Mickey chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Of course I can! But, I have to ask, how did you find your way into my garden?"
Naminé shrugged. "Well, I came here from… the bathroom…" she mumbled, and King Mickey nodded, more confused than before. But with a final sigh of exasperation he muttered, "I'm going to believe you have a good reason for this!" as he beckoned for her to follow him to the gate. When its black iron shone like onyx ahead of them, Naminé glanced up at the King, gripping the coat sleeve of his arm in fear. "Please don't tell anyone that I was here!" added the girl, and then she knew that she'd said too much.
Without another word, the king let her out of the gate, and Naminé bolted down the road without looking back. Her heart beat fast as she ran towards the Disney City train station. When its golden turrets gleamed up above her, she charged forth through their red double entrance doors and looked around in earnest for the train that would lead her to Twilight Town, knowing that Marluxia and his men would be searching for her by now. Slithering past the ticket check lanes and darting onto the Twilight Town line ticketless, Naminé hoped that the Disney Castle security had not put out a missing child alert yet. But to her horror, as the train she sat on chugged along, an announcement blared out across the train just as it pulled past Hollow Bastion.
"There has been a missing girl reported in Disney City, the last citing placed her in the Royal Train Station in Disney City going in the direction of the yellow and green lines. If you see a girl with pale skin, blonde hair reaching the shoulders, and blue eyes, in a white hoodie and a pair of jean shorts, please report her to the nearest help desk so that she can be returned to her guardians. Thank you." In the blink of an eye Naminé's hoodie was shoved behind one of the train window seats, and the hat from the head of a sleeping boy was tucked onto her scalp to hide her hair. She kept the brim of the hat down as the train stopped before Twilight Town, and she hurried out of its doors amidst a few suspicious glances. But things only became worse as she stepped into the main station. Cops lined the building's corners and perimeter, stopping random people and asking them questions; looking at their faces. As Naminé watched the onslaught she only panicked more, looking around in desperation for an escape route that was not appearing. But then, with an internal cry of relief, she spotted an emergency exit and slinked out of it, shock painting her face when she saw what lay before her.
A dozen policemen patrolled Main Street on either sidewalk, examining the pedestrians who passed them by with keen eyes. But Naminé kept her head bent low as she trudged forth, and hurried out from the station and down the street unnoticed. Her heart beat like a hammer as she turned down a side street and broke into a light jog, but slowed when she realized that someone was following her. Refusing to look behind, she ducked into a low-lying alley that fed out into the forest near Yen Sid's tower. When she heard voices in its direction, she became scared and charged for the mansion instead.
Once there, she launched herself over the iron fence surrounding the house and through the front door, running up to her old room in between shaking sobs. With shaking hands she ripped her drawings from the walls and stuffed them into a woven shopping basket that Pence had left there ages ago. Thinking of where she could escape to next, Naminé wondered if Pence, or even Roxas would keep her safe, and after she'd gathered together her painting equipment and college supplies she dashed into Xion's room to retrieve her things. Though her and Xion's college debts had been paid, the girls would be arrested if they attempted to attend the first day of class. As Naminé glanced at the college supplies in her arms, she realized that they were useless. But as she stared at them further her eyes glazed over and her arms fell limp, sending the painting and college supplies crashing to the floor. Then, clinging to the wall, Naminé slid to the ground as well, covering her eyes in horror. She had forgotten Xion.
How could she have forgotten Xion? With her head gripped tightly in her arms, Naminé wailed and rocked herself back and forth in the realization that had Xion been with her, neither of them would have gotten this far. What on earth would she do?
With a sigh of grief Naminé glanced around at Xion's room, at the decorations from Organization Thirteen and before that the girl had set up around her bed. A horde of seashells lay strewn across her bedside dresser, little bits of thalassa shells that were cracked with age, oily from the touch of hands.
Naminé did not want to leave Xion behind, but she would be caught if she tried to rescue her. With her papers held close to her chest, Naminé curled into a ball and breathed in and out with slow deliberation, in an attempt to calm herself down. But as sobs overtook her again the creak of floorboards echoing up from the foyer of the mansion entered her ears, and her crying died to a punctuated sniffle. Though she listened in silence, the floorboards did not creak again, and Naminé's shoulders relaxed as her crying started up again. She thought to herself that now was the time to leave. Perhaps she could get herself to safety and then return for Xion when she deemed it safe.
Hoisting herself up from the ground, she bundled all of her supplies together and headed back to her room, where Pence's woven bag was waiting for her. It would hold her supplies as she escaped. But as Naminé passed through the hallway towards her white room, and shadow fell across its entrance door, one that was larger than her own, and a great hand fell upon her shoulder.
As the girl gasped in disbelief, she was yanked backwards so that all the supplies in her arms spilled out onto the floor before her. When she looked into the beady eyes of her attacker and noticed his uniform, she realized that it was a policeman. The floorboards from the room below their feet echoed, and voices called up the stairs as Naminé looked anywhere but the man in front of her. "You're coming with me young lady," he hissed, ignoring the supplies that were scattered across the floor. In an attempt to escape, Naminé screamed and clawed at the agent's face, lashing out with ferocity, but the man that held her was too strong. Several other policemen filed in soon after and assisted the man in pinning Naminé to the ground, where she writhed and screeched, her hair fluttering around her shoulders like wings. "If you assault a police officer you will be reprimanded!" another officer shouted in her ear, grabbing her face in his hands and shaking it to make her look at him. At this point, Naminé ceased her struggle and gave up, panting and crying with great heaves of her small abdomen.
"What is it that you want from me?" she sobbed, but the policemen ignored her, instead hoisting her up and leading her outside. "I don't want to go back to him!" cried Naminé in a hysteric screech as she was put inside a police car. She banged her fists against the glass windows on the inside of the car as the policemen walked away from her, but none listened. A few feet away, four of them stopped and talked, while one wiped at their lip. Naminé could not see if she'd drawn blood or not. But soon the conversation broke up, and two of them returned to the police car holding Naminé, who had curled up on the side of the backseat, sore from a migraine. She stared straight into the leather of the passenger seat as it buckled with the weight of the policeman entering it, and ignored the agents' conversation as the car started and pulled away from her old home.
Ten minutes later, the vehicle stopped again and the backseat door was opened. Here, the two policemen who had accompanied Naminé pulled her out of the car and towards the Twilight Town Jail Precinct, where she was locked in a separate holding cell from other arrestees. Left on her own, she curled into a ball and held her head between her arms so that she could fall asleep warm.
An hour into her stay, Naminé's cell door was opened and Roxas entered, followed by Xion. His expression was one of heartbreak, while Xion stared dead ahead, towards the small barred window high above Naminé's bed. After five minutes of silence, Xion's refusal to look at the people around her ebbed, and she stole a glance at Naminé, who met her eyes. Then, slowly, she stepped towards Naminé's wire cot and knelt down beside her, entwining their hands and squeezing Naminé's palms in her own. But the dark haired girl did not smile.
"Do you know why Xehanort was there?" Xion asked, but Naminé shook her head. To this Xion was silent. But, after a moment's thought, she nodded and looked up at Roxas. "Xehanort hates me," stated the dark haired girl flatly. "So does Xemnas. They think I'm an idiot," then she glanced back at Naminé with fierce eyes. "But I'm not. So don't worry about me." Then, her eyes clouded as she added, "You should have run faster instead of stopping to collect my things," to which Naminé shot back, "are you excited about Marluxia?" with surprising vehemence. Though Xion was shocked into silence at the outburst, Roxas whined quietly to the side, shuffling his feet as he stared at the ground. But soon, Xion regrouped with a shrug. "Somehow I think they've got different plans for us."
The reassurance was interrupted when an officer knocked on their cell bars, so that Xion turned around and looked up at him. "Time to go," the man mumbled, and Xion nodded and stood, exiting the cell before giving a short wave to Naminé. Then, she and Roxas left the room, their hands entwined with tight fingers. When their footsteps died as they left the hallway outside the cell, Naminé remembered with sadness what King Mickey had said in the garden. "You've got to be brave, or everything will go wrong!"
Feeling weak, Naminé curled her knees up under her chin. Bravery was difficult.
...
The clock chimed three in meeting room 233 of Disney Castle, where Xehanort and Mr. Silver sat across from Marluxia, his lawyer, and Roxas, who fidgeted in his seat, knowing he had no chance. Mr. Silver stared at Marluxia's lawyer in amusement as the man looked aside in deep thought, pressing his hand to his temple.
Soon, the current party's observations were interrupted when the latch on the room's entrance door clicked and opened to reveal the judge, followed by Naminé, Xion, their lawyer, and two police escorts. The three meeting participants sat down at the head of the long table set out for everyone, while the police escorts stood outside the door. Various refreshments had been arranged at the table's center, but no one touched them.
"Well, shall we begin?" the judge asked, and everyone leaned forward in anticipation as the man in question slipped his files from the manila folder under his arms and reading through them in silence. When he came across the last paragraph of his current page, he chuckled and glanced up at Xehanort. "Such a might interest," elaborated the man.
To this Xehanort smiled but did not respond, instead closing his eyes and gripping his cane. Silence pervaded the room once more until the judge held out his arms and directed his attention to his audience. "Who are the candidates?" he asked, and Xehanort, Roxas, and Marluxia all raised their hands.
"And who are their representation?" The lawyers present, and Roxas, raised their hands, and the judge nodded. "And the adoptees?" Naminé and Xion sat unmoving. "Representation?" Their lawyer raised his hand.
"All present and accounted for?" the judge asked. Everyone nodded. "Right, we are in session," He muttered, thudding his gavel on the small sounding block laid at his right side. Then he looked up at everyone, before his gaze landed on Xehanort and his hand pointed in the old man's direction. "Xehanort, what is your reason for adopting these girls?"
"Dr. Xehanort is solely interested in Naminé," Mr. Silver corrected. "He was not aware till recently that there were two adoptees, and because of the dealings his son has had with the girl Xion, Dr. Xehanort's judgment of her character has been disrupted."
"Naminé worked for Ansem," Roxas spat, and Xehanort glanced at him with a nod. "A good friend of mine and a respected former board member."
Roxas sat back in disgust, folding his shaking arms in front of him. As the judge resumed speaking, Xehanort continued to stare at the boy with narrowed eyes, broken only when the judge addressed him once more. In this case, he closed his eyes slowly, before they rose into open slits, which centered on the judge's throat as it trembled with speech.
"Why are you interested in Naminé, Xehanort?"
"Dr. Xehanort is interested in the girl because he heard about her ill fortune through the news," Mr. Silver interjected. "With the joyous release of his son from wrongful incarceration, Dr. Xehanort would like to return his thanks to the community by helping a member of a party who originally rejected him- that party being Ansem."
"Can't he talk for himself?" Marluxia's lawyer asked, pointing to Xehanort, whose eyes widened as he gripped his cane and leaned forward. "Mr. Silver put it beautifully," the old man chuckled, eyeing Roxas with a nod of his head. "I respected Ansem, though he did not return such a favor," then he addressed Marluxia's lawyer, the gravel of his throat ticking like marbles. "I am indebted to the state for my son. This is my repayment to the people who have cared so deeply for me- and for science," he added, indicating Naminé with a smile. "Be proud of where you came from, Naminé. Ansem was important to us all."
In confusion Naminé stared at him as he returned his glance to the judge. But Xion kept her vision trained out the window, overtaken by her own thoughts, which blinded her to Roxas' looks of desperation.
"What are your qualifications?" the judge asked Xehanort, who pointed to Mr. Silver, who distributed the information before the judge. "My client is wholly financially capable of caring for the girl, whom he would like to place in a master suite at L'Académie Pour Les Petite Débutantes."
As this was said, Naminé's head shot up in shock and she swayed to the side, clinging to her chair. Xehanort watched her. "You do not like that idea?" he asked. Naminé looked up at him in surprise, but shook her head. "I hate that place," she gulped and Xehanort nodded. "We will make different arrangements, then."
The judge beamed at the sudden show of kindness, and handed Xehanort's papers back. "Marluxia, what is your reason for adopting Naminé?"
Marluxia chose to speak for himself, grinning at Naminé with dark eyes. "Well, I was her guardian previously and I want to continue to care for her. I know her like the back of my hand. Think of it as tearing a father away from the girl he raised. It's wrong."
Mr. Silver snorted, interjecting, "If his idea of a father daughter relationship was keeping Naminé cooped up in Castle Oblivion while he attempted to kidnap the Investigation Bureau Director's son, I'd hate to see what he does to her now. He's had rape charges filed against him previously," added the man in an offhand sort of way, but the judge gaped as he stared from Marluxia to his lawyer, who blushed in anger while Marluxia stared forth in shock. "Where did you find that information?" Marluxia's lawyer snapped, and Mr. Silver handed the paperwork to the judge. "Old clients, friends, former girlfriends and boyfriends."
As the judge looked over the paperwork he nodded through furrowed brows. "But these charges were never capitalized upon," then he raised his eyes to meet Marluxia's once more. "What are your credentials for looking after the girls?"
It was now Marluxia's lawyers' turn to hand his files to the judge, who looked over them and nodded again. Then, he set the papers down in front of him and turned to Roxas, who sat up stock straight, eagerly waiting his turn. The boy's palms trembled as he held his little file of paperwork, but while Mr. Silver chuckled at him, Roxas ignored the man. "What have you got, son?" the judge asked, pity creeping into his voice, but Roxas handed him the file and stood tall. Xion looked embarrassed.
"I would like to adopt Xion. I am of age and she likes me better than any of the men here, better than a lot of people," said Roxas, trying to control the hoarseness of his voice. "I have a job and am committed to her safety and education and will find a way to pay for her schooling."
"He's just a boy himself," Mr. Silver lamented, and Roxas glared at him. As the judge beckoned for the boy to be seated, Roxas hesitated, but soon gave in and sat down. More minutes passed as the judge continued perusing his information, before he turned to Xehanort with a wide grin.
"Well, sir, there is no doubt that you are the first candidate. Marluxia is the second candidate, and Roxas is the third candidate," Roxas' shoulders fell and Marluxia fumed silently as the judge indicated the candidate's one by one. But when the old justice asked, "Who do you want?" Xehanort pointed to Naminé. With a clap of his hands, the judge acquiesced, and turned to Naminé for her approval. "Naminé," he asked with a warm smile, "do you agree?"
There was a moment of pause as Naminé opened and closed her mouth, lost for words. But before she could look to Xion for help in her decision, Xehanort raised his hand to make a statement, and then turned to Naminé with a soft glance. "I was alone as a boy myself," the man murmured, looking into Naminé's wide eyes with strange warmth. "I understand that you do not trust me after my involvement of the conviction of your friend, Axel. But he is not what he seems, and I have known him longer than you. Please believe me."
As this was said Naminé became scared, not knowing what to do. With a pleaded glance she looked at Roxas, who averted his gaze. It was then that Naminé realized Roxas did not want her. It would have to be Marluxia or Xehanort. Then Naminé's mind flashed back to the way Axel had treated her the last time she'd seen him. The way he had hulked above her, the glance of disgust he had given her, and she clenched her hands into fists as she responded with cool inflection, "I do". To this, Xehanort smiled at her and closed his eyes, while Marluxia breathed out in anguish, as the judge turned to him next.
"Marluxia, the second adoptee is still here," the man allayed, pointing to Xion. "Do you agree or dissent to her care?"
In shock Xion's eyes darted from Roxas to Marluxia in confusion as the pink haired man stared over at her with narrowed eyes, examining her. Xion averted his gaze deliberately and refused to meet his eye, so that Marluxia glanced over at Naminé instead. As the pale blonde glanced away in anguish, Marluxia smiled and turned to face the judge again. "How could I abandon a friend of my dear Naminé?"
"I forbid the adoption," Xion interjected, folding her arms in front of her. "I am fourteen. I make this decision."
Marluxia frowned and the judge rubbed his eyes. "Then you will be transferred to a state orphanage," he sighed. In reply, Marluxia's lawyer interjected, "She has run away from a number of state institutions she has lived in."
"Send her to L'Académie," Marluxia drawled, to which Xehanort nodded in agreement, adding, "An excellent institution."
"Naminé didn't like it," Roxas snapped. "She was in trouble quite a bit, lad," Xehanort replied, staring at Roxas again, but this time with the same narrowed slit of eyes that glowed a deep yellow from within. To stop from trembling, Roxas gritted his teeth and flexed his arms as the hairs of his skin stood on end. Then, the old key blade master's slitted pupils directed themselves to Xion's bright ultramarines, which glanced towards the window once more as Xehanort's yellow eyes bored into her back. Watching the interaction with amused curiosity, Marluxia addressed Xion further, calling her name and watching as she sat up straighter, defiant but listening.
"Do you want to go to a different country, Xion?" the pink haired man asked in a soft voice. "Thrown into an institution that will only feed your loneliness and reprimand you for misbehavior?" Then he grinned. "Or would you like to stay near Roxas and your friends?" When Xion glanced at Roxas, his sad smile made her gut wrench with indecision. As her mind drew back and forth in confusion, she opened and closed her mouth, unable to speak.
"She must be monitored while in L'Académie," Marluxia's lawyer tried. At this Xion's grip on the chair tightened, and her mouth clamped shut. But before anyone could say another word, she coughed, commenting with diffidence, "perhaps it would be best to stay home." As she spoke, Xehanort narrowed his eyes at her, but when she glanced at Roxas, he gulped in anxiety. "I can't bear to be torn from my friends again," she added, glancing at Xehanort, who chuckled. The judge stared from one candidate to the next and shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands to either side of his chest as he asked, "So, Xion, do you agree to Marluxia?" With a shrug Xion responded yes, and the judge banged his gavel once more. But as the assembly of the room prepared to stand, Roxas jumped up with mouth agape.
"Is that all?" he barked. "I can't argue my point?" added Roxas with wide eyes, but the judge responded with a shake of his head. "No, son, it has been decided. Naminé will go with Xehanort, and Xion will go with Marluxia."
To this Roxas gulped and nodded, sitting down and clasping his hands together to keep from pacing. The adoption contracts were set in front of the different parties, and as Mr. Silver and Marluxia's lawyer signed paperwork, Xehanort and Marluxia signed, too. Naminé and Xion were last. They both walked up to the two individual sets of papers at the same time, but as they reached for pens to write with, Naminé's hand brushed off of Xion's.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Naminé murmured with an absent mind, but stopped mid sentence when she saw the look on Xion's face. Her old friend stared back at her with a grimace, before looking away and scribbling her signature on her paperwork. Then, Marluxia gripped her shoulder with a firm hand, getting a feel for it. "I will look after you," he assured, no hint of an ulterior motive in his voice. A hopeful glint played through Xion's eyes as she turned and left the room with her new guardian. Like a lost dog Roxas tagged along after them, lolloping out of the room and down the hall when his companion left him. "Hey, Xion, at least you'll be staying here!" Naminé heard Roxas whispering, but Xion did not respond. As Naminé stared after the party in shock, Xehanort patted her shoulder, and she looked up at him as he addressed her.
"You must pack your bags and prepare to come to my home tomorrow," murmured Xehanort with a cool grin. "The next day you shall accompany me to Midgar and we will discuss where you will go next."
Though Naminé nodded and followed her new benefactor without question, Xion's expression would not give her piece of mind. To Naminé, it had seemed a look of disgust, the way a prisoner would look at their betrayer. "You are a traitor," Xion hissed inside Naminé's head, warping itself into a monster she was not. And as Naminé was lead out of Disney Castle, she held her hands over her face in shame, while her party descended the strain of steps leading out onto the streets of Disney Town. While Naminé led the way forward, and as Xehanort and Mr. Silver spoke behind her, the feeling that had plagued Naminé for most of her life, and especially when she had lived alongside Ansem, returned. It was invisibility.