Fragmented Memories
Chapter 12: Passion Enters the Fray
If there was ever a time Kairi wished she could cast aside her duty and relax for a change, the annual Royal Ball was it. No matter how many years passed, she would never enjoy or look forward to a night of fancy dresses,uncomfortable high heels, and faked politeness.
She grimaced when she noticed one of the princes from Balance starting to make his way towards her. Kairi hurriedly cast her eyes for an escape and found it in the form of a young nobleman from her own world. She reached out and tapped him on the arm, plastering an obviously fake smile on her face when he turned to look at her.
Cold blue eyes silently appraised her for a moment. Then he sighed and offered his arm to her. "If you insist. You know, one day someone will catch on and then what will you do?"
Kairi ignored the question as she let him lead her to the dance floor. "You are a life saver, Isa."
"I doubt it would end your life if you danced with someone else," Isa said wryly. "Though your feet may suffer."
"They already are. I'd like to prevent further damage."
Isa chuckled and said nothing more as they danced through several songs, moving in perfect harmony. He stayed with her until her most persistent pursuers backed off to find more willing dance partners and then kissed the back of her hand and bid her goodnight before disappearing into the crowd.
"Boy am I glad he's finally gone!"
Kairi tensed at the familiar voice, automatically turning her head to look at the most adamant of her suitors. "Princess Yuffie," she said stiffly.
The other girl smiled brightly and eagerly held out her hand. "Dance with me?"
"Sorry, I'm too tired now," Kairi said, quickly excusing herself and hurrying towards the buffet table. She pretended not to notice the crushed expression Yuffie wore.
Kairi had never heard Sora curse so expressively before. Normally he seemed to go out of his way to avoid it, often coming up with creative alternatives.
Sora threw his weight against the door of an empty classroom, slamming it shut just as a Berserker began charging towards them. "Now would be a good time to transform!" he grunted as the Nobody plowed into the door, nearly smashing it open.
Kairi nodded and in a matter of seconds, Heart Soldier stood in the center of the room. Energy thrummed around her as Sora dove out of the way to avoid being crushed by the door as the Berserker finally succeeded in its quest. Heart disintegrated it with a well-placed attack before it could get any further.
"Why are they here?" Heart asked as Sora stepped over top the wreckage to peer out into the hall.
"With so many people in one place, it's the perfect opportunity for them," he replied grimly. "Send in a couple of low-levels to cause trouble and get us all riled up, see how fast we respond and what we're capable of - it's a common tactic. What I wanna know is where are Love and Peace?"
Right on cue, a spear of ice flew past a nearby junction and then Peace Soldier ran past, her heels clacking loudly on the tiled floors. Love was right behind her, but she skidded to a stop when she spotted her friends from the corner of her eye.
"Sora! Heart! There's a huge group of these things going to the gym! Roxas is already over there, but he can't do anything without revealing himself to everyone!" she yelled.
"Go," Sora ordered. "I'll stay here and take care of any stragglers."
Heart nodded and joined Love as she continued chasing after Peace. The two of them caught up to her in the western side of the building near the gym. Three Nobodies floated in the middle of the hall, blocking their path. Two were protected by blocks of sparking red light and the other kept flicking cards between its hands.
"Oh great," Love muttered sarcastically. "Those two."
"Which ones are these?" Heart asked.
"The two with blocks are Sorcerers. They're resistant to all elemental magic, so you and I will have to take care of them," Love explained, holding out her hands to conjure her golden bow. An energy arrow was already in place and aimed at one of the monsters. "Peace! Take care of that Gambler and don't let it trick you into a game!"
Peace nodded and set out to get the attention of her opponent and lead it away from the others. "Blizzard!" she cried out, releasing a spray of ice.
The Gambler shuddered and then left the safety the Sorcerers provided, fixated on the girl in white. Peace smirked.
Love released her arrow, which blasted through a single block and effectively enraged one of the Sorcerers. She and Heart were forced to dive away to avoid five spinning blocks, but only Love rolled right back to her feet.
"Graceful Cascade!" she yelled, raising her hand in the air and then sweeping it downward. Golden light rained down on the Sorcerer. It reeled back in pain and tried to recover, but Love's attack was too much for it and it soon disintegrated.
Meanwhile, Heart was struggling against the second Sorcerer, which had swooped in while she was recovering from her poorly executed dodge. Blocks surrounded her, sparking threateningly as they slowly closed in on her. She tried her usual energy blasts, but they were too weak to cause any damage.
Heart chanced a look at Peace, who was running circles around the Gambler, peppering it with ice. She watched the monster stumble and then had to duck as a block went whizzing at her face. "Love! A little help over here!" she shouted.
The orange-suited Soldier tried to get to the Sorcerer, but it was wisely staying on the opposite side of Heart. Love wouldn't be able to attack without hurting her friend. All she could do at that moment was keep it distracted long enough for Peace to finish off the Gambler and join them.
Heart attempted to summon her ribbon like she had the day before during training, but struggling to do more than channel a ball of energy to her hand. She shot it at a block, but it barely even moved. Growing desperate, she wracked her mind for something useful from her hazy memories of the past.
There was nothing.
Heart opened her mouth to order Love to attack regardless of her position, when a figure crashed through the ceiling in a blaze of fire and cracked the Sorcerer in the head using oversized nunchaku. The Nobody recalled its blocks, but it was too late. The new Soldier swung her weapon a second time and ripped through the monster, pleased when it burst into bubbles and disappeared.
"Well that was fun," Peace remarked as she finally rejoined them, having finished off the Gambler. Thin cuts marred her cheeks and her long gloves were torn in several places, but other than that she wasn't injured. She curiously eyed their new ally as the other girl dismissed her weapon and began brushing ceiling debris from her short yellow dress.
Realizing everyone was watching her, the new Soldier finally grinned and looked up at them. "Hey guys! I'm not too late to the party, am I?"
Love laughed. "You're just in time! It's good to see you again, Passion."
There was no time for them to stand around and talk, as they were jarringly reminded of when there was a loud booming sound, followed by terrified screams. Wordlessly, the four Soldiers ran for the gym to save their classmates and eliminate the threat.
Naturally, the school's response to the attack and destruction of the gymnasium was the send everyone home early for the day and close the school until a proper cleanup and investigation could be done.
Some students rejoiced. Others were furious.
Emotions in Kairi's group of friends were torn between the two, which lead to an awkward after-school gathering at the Burger Bar. After Olette and Hayner nearly came to blows over the subject, everyone decided it was in their best interest to go their separate ways for the day.
As Kairi prepared to walk home with Tidus, Naminé and Pence pulled them aside to have a quiet conversation. They settled in a booth towards the back and waited until all of their friends had left before they started talking.
"So let me get this straight," Pence said, struggling to comprehend the information that had just been dumped on him. "You two have powers and are – how did you put it? Reincarnated magical Soldiers? And it's just now that these monsters are running around that you're remembering your past life." He looked at Tidus. "So what about you? Do you have powers too?"
Tidus shook his head. "Nope. Totally normal person here. Kind of wish I did though."
"No you don't," Kairi and Naminé said in unison.
Tidus wanted to argue, but when he noticed their expressions he let it go and slumped back against the booth. He wasn't done talking though. "So what do we do now? These things are getting bolder to attack a school in daytime."
"We'll probably have a meeting about it tomorrow," Naminé said thoughtfully. "But in the meantime... maybe you and Kairi should go out to the island and do some training. No offense, Kairi, but you need it just as much as Tidus does."
Kairi frowned and stared at the table, not wanting to admit that the other girl was right. She was useless during the attack that day with her inability to properly use her powers. If Selphie hadn't showed up right when she did, they may not have made it to the gym in time.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Pence asked.
Naminé smiled and nodded. "Of course. Roxas gave me an assignment I could use a little help with. It's just detective work, really. Nothing dangerous."
"I could do that," Pence agreed.
"Great! I have to go get a few things first, so maybe we can meet back here in about an hour?" Naminé asked.
Kairi slid out of the booth and gestured for Tidus to do the same. "You two have fun with that. The two of us will be training, since we're so useless."
Hurt flickered in Naminé's eyes. "Kairi, I didn't-"
Kairi walked away without a backward glance.
"It'll be okay," Tidus said reassuringly. "She just needs a little while to cool down, trust me. I do need to go catch up with her, so, uh, good luck with your detective work." He smile at them unsurely and then slid out of the booth and ran to catch up with his best friend.
On the easternmost side of the island there was a docking field for airships. While it was nowhere near the largest or grandest of them on Cardinal, it was still a decent size and surprisingly busy at all hours of the day.
Reno Sinclair was no stranger to the docks, though it was rare that he was there waiting on a person rather than a package. He grumbled to himself as he impatiently stood outside of one of the ships, wishing he'd never made the call to his boss the evening before. Reno just knew that his quiet life was about to be disrupted in a massive way and he wasn't pleased about it.
He watched as a young woman with blonde hair exited the airship and rolled his eyes skyward. Seriously, his boss complained about him running late all the time? He'd been standing there for twenty minutes and the guy he was picking up still hadn't showed. Reno had half a mind to leave him stranded at the port to find his own way to the hotel. That would show him.
"Excuse me?"
Reno blinked. While he'd been lost in contemplation, the young woman had approached him. He looked her up and down, taking in her dark red, short-sleeved shirt with a white-and-blue sailor collar, her black pleated skirt, and simple black loafers. It was a school uniform. A very familiar school uniform. "Fuck," he muttered with a low groan.
The girl rolled her eyes. "You must be Reno Sinclair. I'm Elena Hawkeye, here on the order of President Shinra."
"Yeah, I figured that much," Reno said. "What the hell is he thinking, sending a kid out here for this?"
Elena's brown eyes flashed in agitation. "I'm nineteen. And I've trained, just as you have. You'll find I'm more than capable of handling whatever is going on around here."
Reno wanted nothing more than to argue and force her back onto the airship, but something in her voice stopped him. Or maybe it was the determined expression on her face. Either way, he sighed in aggravation and gestured towards the car waiting behind him. He'd just have to trust their boss.
End Chapter
Next chapter: Soldier Found, Soldier Lost
