Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy XII nor its characters.

A/N: Bah! You are all so patient. I had wanted to post this up last week, but then I had to go and change it...again!! Ack! Another two week wait for a chapter and I'm still living so I really must thank you all for your patience! I'm hoping it will be well received as it will lead us into the ending here soon. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!!

Chapter Eleven: Leaving

Noah's free hand caught Penelo's other wrist as it dropped down away from his face. He was expecting her to make her usual outburst and run off. He had not expected to feel the sting of her displeasure. The earlier conversation reverberated in his head about Supinelu cautioning against breaking her. Had he finally pushed her to the point that she now hated him?

Noah was ripped from his musings as Vaan attempted to pull Penelo out of his hands.

"You know what? You really are stupid!" Vaan yelled angrily. "Do you really think we made it all the way around Ivalice without killing anyone?"

Noah blinked, waking from his daze, and simply stared at the man in confusion as he felt her wrists finally pull from his grasp. Penelo just stood mutely, staring at the ground.

"Yeah, you killed my brother. But how many brothers do you think we had to kill when we were trying to escape on the Leviathan? Or what about the Bahamut? Wasn't Vayne Larsa's brother? It sure as hells wasn't you who finished him off." Vaan's anger grew with each question and statement as he tried to pull Penelo away from the dumbfounded man.

Noah gaped openly at the livid blonde. The young man was right, he was a fool. Not once did he ever think that perhaps the reason she forgave him so readily was because she needed to forgive herself for the same. He also began to realize the true meaning behind Supinelu's words.

"Penelo," Vaan said gently and again tried to pull her away but she remained rooted in place. He angrily turned on Noah once again.

"I could have forgiven you for my brother's death, but I will never forgive you for hurting Penelo."

The ice of the man's tone reflected in his eyes that bore their way into Noah's mind. The same eyes on the boy he had killed almost three years ago now. The boy that had fought to prevent his brother and Penelo from having to fight and yet they wound up in the very heart of a tyrant's web. The very same tyrant that had almost killed Noah, himself.

Noah made a feeble attempt to reach out to Penelo and Vaan snarled protectively. His arms fell limply back to their sides and he watched helplessly as the girl stood there, breaking.

There was nothing he could say. Not that his mouth would have been able to form words if he could think of something. He knew there was nothing he could ever do now to gain her trust again. Too late did he now realize, he had lost his final chance for redemption.

The uneasy silence that filled the hut was broken by the soft coaxing from Vaan who was unsuccessfully trying to get Penelo to move. Noah decided it was best not to aid the young man for fear of upsetting her further. He had never wanted to cause her this much pain, but he felt justified in knowing that once this was over she would be free of him. Then he could never hurt her again for he would most likely never see her again. The simple thought made Noah's breath catch and the sound caused Penelo's head to snap up and catch his gaze.

She studied him, unblinking. Vaan had made yet another attempt to pull her away, but this time she shook her head and the young man gave an agitated groan.

"Fine, but you better be ready to leave when I get back. And if he hurts you, I'm gonna kill him!" The blue eyed man huffed and stomped back out of the hut.

Noah bristled at the sharp words as he spared a glance to the young man before he disappeared. Penelo's eyes never left Noah and as she watched his reaction to Vaan's threat, she finally understood what the man had been trying to do for the last few days.

"You want me to leave." She stated hurtfully.

Noah made no attempt to hide the guilt as he studied the ground at her feet. She watched him and realized that she had been foolishly hoping he would contradict her, but his eyes never lifted from the floor. Penelo felt her heart sinking and the tears she had been successfully keeping at bay earlier were now spilling onto her cheeks.

"You could have just asked you know." She said hotly as she turned towards her pillows.

Her vision blurred from tears as she gathered up her blanket and a pillow. Her heart hurt. She had forgiven him for everything and he didn't care. Whatever she had thought about him finally willing to open up must have been dead wrong. To him she was nothing more than another servant there to serve a purpose and now that he no longer needed her, he no longer wanted her around.

Noah eased himself down to the cot taking the strain off his foot. It had been throbbing for some time now, but he felt it was in his best interest to stand. But now, as he watched her drop to her knees and gather her blanket and pillow, he doubted if he would have been able to continue to stand from the sheer emptiness that was starting to settle inside him.

He silently watched her as she moved about mechanically, gathering her things. More than once he felt the need to go and comfort her, but he forced himself to remain stoic. He reminded himself that she would be far better off once she was gone.

Penelo had only her pack left to grab and she sniffled as she made her way to the cot that Noah was on. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She kept her head down as she knelt beside him and then shoved her hand under the cot to retrieve her pack. And as her luck would have it, it was placed further to her left, which now meant she'd have to either ask him to move or just crawl under and get it. She opted for crawling.

Not a word was spoken as she fished her pack out and then stood up. Noah's hand clenched the blanket on the cot. It was a lot harder to watch her go than he had expected, but he deserved the self torment. He was the reason she was leaving after all.

Vaan made his reappearance shortly thereafter. He glared at Noah as he draped an arm around Penelo's shoulders. With a snort, the young blonde took a hold of her pack and ushered her out the door. Noah was left alone and he hung his head down as he slammed a fist down on the cot.

Penelo said her goodbyes sadly to the Garif. She gave a hug to Hsemu and smiled weakly at the War-Chief. He assured her that she would always be welcome and they would see to Noah's well being. With a solemn nod, she let Vaan lead her down across the bridge of the Sogoht and away from the little village she had grown to love.

She boarded the Strahl and excused herself to one of the small sleeping cabins it had in the rear. Vaan told Filo and Kytes to keep an eye on her as he has one more thing to take care of.

Noah was still sitting on the cot with his head bowed when Vaan walked through the hut's threshold. The elder blonde, thinking it was Supinelu, didn't bother raising his head to acknowledge him. He was ashamed of his behavior and even if he did deserve the War-Chief's lecture, he wasn't ready to hear it just yet.

"You could at least look up," Vaan said snidely.

Noah's head shot up instantly, his eyes wide with shock. Vaan narrowed his eyes in response.

"I'm supposed to give you this." Vaan muttered and tossed a small package in Noah's direction.

The elder man caught it and opened it carefully. Inside was a letter, a hefty amount of Gil, and something Noah thought he had lost forever, his mother's hairpins. He raised his head to thank the boy, but he was already gone.

Noah set the Gil and pins aside for the moment. He picked up the letter and began to read. It was from Larsa and a small frown began when he realized it was meant more for Penelo than himself. The boy was still smitten and every sentence was describing how captivated Larsa was with her and Noah found himself agreeing with most of the young lord's descriptions.

She was kindhearted, brave, and trustworthy. Noah could also agree that she was pretty, though he would have chosen the word beautiful. He could not form an opinion on her singing or dancing as he had never witnessed them. Hells, he didn't even know that she could sing or dance. Larsa then went into thanking her for sharing some of her life's stories with him and that he hoped she would find peace one day.

Noah's face puzzled. Why would Penelo need to find peace? He sadly realized he barely knew her at all, and now brought about by his own hand, he would never get the chance.