Chapter 20: Get the Girl! -From Wakka
A/N: The last part of the 'get the girl' ark. I tried to keep this chapter short to get it out sooner (and because, like I said earlier, I'm really not trying to have long chapters in this story), so it may seem a little rushed. That and, again, I'm working on multiple stories at once and I hit a little bit of writer's block after having changed this chapter completely. For that, I apologize. But if it makes you guys feel any better…I'm already finished the next chapter. It just needs to be edited. It'll likely be out within the week.
Warnings: Same old.
Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.
Reviews:
- Yes, the world is already crumbling. XD I like to think that Selphie's overdramatic innuendos are a nice addition to the story.
UltimaShishigawa- Aww thank you! I can't say exactly what will happen, but you do get your answer this chapter. As for Sora and Garnet…people can be shitty. I didn't want everything to be fluff and rainbows because things don't always work out like that…
Guest- Yes! Overprotective Big Brother Roxas FTW!
Other guest- I'm looking through my notebook now and depending on what I like and don't like, it might not even bee five more chapters. I might shorten it, there's a lot of filler in there…
Eclipse- Glad you enjoyed it. I'm definitely writing more! I wanna see this finished just as much as you guys.
SleeplessMemories- I'm sure you're not the only one, haha! New chapters all the way!
Lycobra- I almost feel bad that you said that. Almost… Thanks for the review!
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Wakka stood by the docks at Kilika port. They weren't very crowded yet, as the performances weren't supposed to start for a while and the troop itself was still in Luca. I was honestly surprised the troop wasn't performing this play in Luca. It wasn't exactly a small play, yet the theatre –which doubled as the blitzball stadium– was pretty tiny compared to Luca. Or better yet, Zanarkand. Honestly, the tiny island was lucky to have a stadium at all. The island might be bigger than Destiny, but only by so much and the majority of it was still covered in wild forests filled with plant life that was large enough to eat people. Yeah, I never questioned it when my parents told me to stay away from those trees. They practically radiate evil.
It wasn't the forest we were headed towards, however, when we got off the boat. We being myself, my family, Selphie, Tidus, Riku, Kairi, Yuffie and their families (sans Kairi's dad), and anyone else who managed to fit onto the boat. We couldn't really afford a large one and pay for the stay at the island. Or rather, no one bothers to bring a lot of loose money to Kilika, but the boats only take physical munny. Wakka was already there, having visited a friend on Besaid before riding out to Kilika ahead of everyone else. He had a smug look on his face, which only grew when he spotted me. What's that all about?
I looked to my right (and around Riku, who liked being in the way apparently) to see Tidus and Selphie wearing the same expressions. Deciding not to ask until my –and everyone else's– parents weren't around to listen in. In fact, they seemed to realize they weren't much wanted as they started walking away.
"You guys hang out for a bit. We'll go get rooms for everyone at the hotel. You know where to go when you're ready to head in," Mrs. Tilmitt said over her shoulder. They all started talking amongst themselves about how this would be a great little weekend trip as they headed off to the only hotel on the island. Yup, like I said, small. Thankfully, the money earned from blitzball and other performances such as plays and concerts, meant that not only was the hotel very big and very nice, the island's own living conditions were far better than Besaid and the surrounding counties of Luca. Just up to the standards of Destiny in fact, which was more so due to our dear mayor Santoni's magic touch than anything. It also wasn't a complete bore to explore as, while it wasn't large enough to have many outdoor attractions, indoor ones were abundant. We all started walking aimlessly, not knowing what to start with. It had been a while since most of us had been to Kilika after all, and Selphie was too busy making it to work on time when she came to the island to bother much with the tourist stuff. From what we'd heard, there had been renovations and a new visitor/science center that focused on aforementioned killer plant life. I personally wasn't much interested in Ochus. All I knew, and needed to know, about them was that they kill you slowly and painfully, and it was freaky enough knowing I was on the same island as them. At least they never left the forest.
"So, what are we doing?" I asked. I figured someone would answer.
"I'm finding someone else to spend my time with," Vanille said before prancing off somewhere. No one was surprised. Fang couldn't come after all, something about her grandma needing help moving out of her house and into a retirement home, so Vanille needed someone her age to hang around. Not that she was that much older than us, but then we didn't need her to 'babysit' us either.
"Okay, everyone besides Vanille…?" I asked again. Everyone shrugged. I looked over at Yuffie.
"Where's Zidane?" I asked. I saw him get on the boat with his dad and Mrs. Tifa, but he was nowhere to be found right now. I wasn't too worried about him, I mean, he still wasn't my favorite person right now to be honest, but that didn't mean I wanted him to go off on his own and get lost. Vanille knew her way around Kilika, but I wasn't sure about Zidane. And Garnet was in Alexandria for the weekend for the same purpose we were here. She'd likely be on her way to Treno by tonight.
"…He's right over there," Yuffie said, pointing up. Up. Everyone followed her finger…and raised their eyebrows in question as to how he got on the roof of the dock's information center.
"…Why—?"
"I don't know. He's weird I guess," Yuffie shrugged. Speaking of…
"And didn't I tell you not to stalk Kairi?" I crossed my arms as I asked her. Again, she shrugged, though this time sheepishly.
"Wait, what?" Kairi asked.
Oh. She didn't know.
"Yuffie…"
"I told you I'm a ninja!"
"Look," Selphie started, "let's ignore that for now. Wakka, give him the thing."
"The thing?" I asked.
"The thing," Wakka replied. He held out his hand and grasped in it was a black bag.
"Don't open it yet," he winked. I could already feel everyone's eyes on the exchange.
"Wakka, you didn't just give my little brother drugs, did you?" Roxas asked, his face scrunching up in a grimace. Naminé snorted at that.
"He knows better, Rox." I wasn't sure if she meant Wakka knew better than to hand me drugs, or I knew better than to take them seeing as she was looking at me when she said that…
"Yeah, seriously Rox. I'd never give Sora drugs unless I was asking him to sell them for me—" Wakka was cut off by a punch in the arm from my brother and his own outburst of laughter. Deciding I'd ask later about what it really was, I pocketed the small bag and moved on, pulling Riku and Kairi along with me after figuring they were the sanest of the bunch. They understood pretty quickly.
"Guess we're going off on our own too, then?" Kairi asked, looking back at everyone else. I took a peek back myself…and quickly turned back around after catching Yuffie climbing on top of the information center roof to bother her step brother.
"Yep. I'm not hanging around those psychos more than I have to," I replied.
"Shouldn't you be practicing for your part?" Riku piped in. He tends to say useful things at least once in a while.
"Well, I've been practicing since Selphie dropped the news, but I don't exactly have a large part. My role is more facial expressions and body language. They can't exactly hinge the success of their play on a rookie, so I don't have many lines."
"…I think you can pull it off," Kairi said. Riku nodded in agreement. I put my arms around their shoulders and pulled them both in close.
"D'aww you guys…" I sniffed.
But in all seriousness…their confidence in my abilities really helps. I don't participate much in the small plays at Emory's since they only really needed a waiter when they hired me, and Rinoa's winding down on the school productions now that the end of the year is approaching fast. I haven't had too many chances to expand on my own skills, so this is really a good opportunity for me.
The whole…ask Kairi out on stage notwithstanding.
…How in the actual fuck am I even supposed to do that?!
"You're thinking too hard. That's dangerous, you know," Riku said as he poked my forehead, which was creased in thought.
"Ah shut up, bowl cut—"
"Why won't you assholes leave my hair alone?"
"—I'm allowed to think as much as I want."
"I don't know, Sora, Riku might have a point," Kairi giggled.
"Oh my god, don't join the dark side Kairi."
Riku snorted at that.
"The dark side's too sexy for either of you losers."
Kairi looked him over for a moment.
"They must have forgotten to tell you that."
"Oi!"
We continued ribbing each other all the way up until we reached Main Street. It wasn't very far from the docks, but it had clearly expanded farther into the island since the last time we were here. I looked behind us again to see if the others were keeping up. No sight of them. Oh well, they can take care of themselves. We ambled down the sidewalk, checking out every new store front and waiting to see if there was anything interesting enough to grab our attention. It…felt like old times. Like none of that drama ever happened and we were the same three best friends just hanging out and having fun. Of course, things weren't exactly the same. Kairi wasn't talking as much as she used to, and Riku wasn't teasing either of us as much as he used to. It was as if they felt a barrier was blocking us from really going back to the way we were.
And if I really thought about it…there was.
I suppose it's a side effect of growing older, not talking to someone for months, having a best friend who's two years older. Knowing that at some point things are really gonna change for us. It was a bit depressing. All the time we had to spend together and instead we used it up with other people, doing other things. Now here we are walking down Kilika Main Street, feeling nostalgic because, well…it's not those old times anymore. Riku's graduating soon and Kairi, who has finally warmed up to all of us again, suddenly feels more distant than before. At least then, I had her daily grumpy attitude to look forward to. Now she smiles so much more and it feels empty.
"What are you brooding about?" I hear her ask. My gaze, which was mostly situated at the ground during my thought process, slowly turned to her. She looked concerned. Guess I must have been frowning.
"It's—"
"Don't even say it's nothing," Riku pitched in. "We know you better than that."
"Okay then. It's something. And I don't really want to dwell on it, so let's just move on," I said instead. Both Riku and Kairi glanced at each other and shrugged before dropping the subject, for which I was thankful. I didn't know if they noticed how different things seemed, but it was a petty subject to bog them down with nonetheless. People grow up. That's just how it happens.
"So, when should we be at the hotel?" Kairi asked, trying to make conversation I'll bet.
"The play starts at seven, and it's almost noon now. I guess we should head there around five so Spikey Brain has time to meet up with the troop," Riku replied.
"Oh resorting to name-calling now, are we Mr. Prematurely Gray?" Because I wasn't letting him get away with that.
"Really? Prematurely Gray? How many times have you used that by now?"
"Fifteen."
I counted.
"Nice to know you paid attention, Sora. I feel so loved…" Riku rolled his eyes. I nodded along.
"Well, duh. I can't just let you forget your condition, Riku, that would be so cruel of me," I said dramatically. Riku, in response, reached over Kairi's head to shove my shoulder. She didn't seem too happy about that.
"You could've reached around me, you know."
Nice to know that you care so much about Riku shoving me, Kairi. Suddenly, I feel as loved as Riku.
"Nah. You're short enough."
The argument those four words led to lasted half of the afternoon.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
So… I'm sweating bullets.
There's a crowd out there. A large crowd.
And I'm wearing a dress.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the circumstances under which this is necessary, but still… I'm in a fucking dress.
At least it's done okay enough. Nice to know Selphie's good for something other than starting fires.
Kidding aside, I found myself fiddling with the stitches in nervousness, trying not to scratch at my head which was covered with a dark brown, waist length wig. I was Princess Sarah, ready to be tied up at the stake so that I could represent goodness and kindness and such, and then be burned to death for turning said goodness into forbidden magic. Oh, and possibly ask Kairi out in a subtle way, if I could get away with it.
Speaking of Sarahs, Serah should be out there too. I hadn't heard from her in a while, but somehow I knew she'd be here to see this performance. She too had rooted for my choice in an acting career, after all.
Great. One more person who can watch me crash and burn. My family already knew it was gonna happen, my friends knew it was gonna happen…hell, they set it up.
Why am I friends with them, again?
"Psst. Sora!"
I looked to my left to see one of my fellow actors, Marcus, holding up that wooden stake with a gleeful look on his face. I swear to god he's a sadist. No, seriously.
"I'm almost up?" I whispered back. He nodded and waved me over and away from the curtain.
"Time to tie you up. Don't worry, it won't hurt."
That sounded wrong on so many levels.
Deciding not to voice that fact, I simply nodded quietly and turned to let Marcus set to work. Just as he finished, the curtain closed in preparation for the next act and the other actors had to join him in dragging me over to the post at which my stake would be erected from. It was apparently easier to do this with me tied up already since our previous attempts to tie me to the damn thing while it was set up led to it (with me included) falling over multiple times. In the few minutes this took, the next act was ready to be enacted and soon the curtains were opening.
Oh god, I'm sweating even more.
There were so many people there. I recognized quite a few faces in the crowd, after all a lot of people from Destiny come to see this play rather than the mainland one. Only half of my attention was on the actual play itself, and it left me almost gaping like a fish when my lines came up. Swallowing thickly, I answered Marcus' character's inquiry with a, surprisingly, steady voice. I was proud of that. Didn't need everyone hearing my nerves just as well as they could see them. And I didn't have many lines anyway…
I continued searching the crowd as I continued speaking my part. I caught Wakka holding up the bag that he had handed me earlier. I gave it back after finding out what it was. And as for what it was, well…
'So what is this, anyway?' I asked Wakka, staring at the small bag in my grasp curiously. I hadn't opened it yet. I didn't want whatever it was to blow up in my face or something. Knowing my friends, it'd be something that could do that.
'It's a love potion,' Wakka answered easily, a large grin on his face.
…
…
'I'm sorry, what?'
'A love potion. That's why I had gone to Besaid. My buddy Lulu, she can make things like that, yeah?'
'Yeah…?'
Wakka laughed and shook his head.
'They call her the Black Mage of Besaid.'
'But magic's—'
'I know, man, but I've seen her do things. Weird things. Anyway, I know her potions work because she makes healing elixirs for my mom, yeah? I figured if Selph and Tid want something ridiculous, I'd better deliver,' Wakka said. His face seemed to lose color a bit as he mentioned the "weird things" that Lulu could do and I suddenly decided that I did not want to meet this Lulu woman. Ever.
'Look,' Wakka continued, 'I know the guys are really pushing you into this, but you gotta understand that feelings like what you got with Kairi? Those don't show through April Fools pranks and Love Potions. You gotta tell her how you feel, yeah? Take the potion or don't, but you gotta try. Not some spell from Lulu.'
Deciding not to correct him on the April the 1st issue, I only nodded and handed the bag back to him. His resulting grin told me I made the correct choice.
Realizing he was only joking around as he held the potion up, my eyes continued their search for the pair that I was hoping to meet up with. From the faces I'd seen already, I could pick out my family from the crowd sitting farther back. I knew that Kairi would be sitting closer up front, however, and it looked like she wasn't anywhere near Wakka, Selphie (who was trying to see what was in the bag), and Tidus. Farther down then…ah. There she is.
"Your majesty, we are at a predicament then. You go against your country and your people, using a powerful magic that is forbidden to all. And for what? For love?"
I nodded at Marcus' final question. We'd reached the part of the play where I was supposed to confess my crime and be burned for it. And it was the very line I wanted to convey to Kairi, the very chance I had to let her know exactly how I felt. I held my head high, and hoped my falsetto would be convincing enough. I'd practiced with Vanille, so it should be fine. It may have muddied the image I wanted for asking Kairi out, but at the end of the day, she knew me and I wasn't going to be ashamed of the path I'd chosen. The path she'd chosen too. Looking straight into her eyes, I finally answered Marcus.
"Yes. Everything I did, I did for love."
I had to hand it to the special effects crew. As flashy as the display of my fake human bonfire was, it didn't blind anyone on the stage or in the audience. I could see Kairi's blushing face perfectly.
She was frowning.
That's not good…
-o-
"Sora, that was amazing!"
"Yeah! I mean, you barely spoke but still!"
"I'd have never been able to speak so clearly in front of an audience that big!"
"You pulled off being a girl pretty well."
"Didn't he? Wasn't it amazing?"
"…I was trying to make a crack at him."
Although the praise was nice, it practically filtered in one ear and out the other. Everyone was there, patting my back and telling me I had a good future ahead of me. But in the sea of faces, there was one that wasn't present.
"Hey."
This one was behind me and I whirled to find my teacher standing there. Of course Rinoa would also be present. After all, I was one of her students and I can imagine how proud she is that I got a professional job. Even if said job was being tied to a stick, in a dress, and spouting to the world that I cast forbidden magic for love. Thankfully, I at least got to take the dress off. Rinoa seemed to have other things in mind as she jerked her head toward the exit.
"Follow me."
I did so and she led me through the back of the theatre. She seemed to know her way well enough, simply strolling through the halls, turning corners as if on autopilot. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I broke the silence.
"Mrs. Leonhart—"
"Rinoa. We're not at school and your brother is gonna end up marrying my little cousin one of these days, so there's no need to be formal."
Right…can't believe I almost forgot. Rinoa is Naminé's cousin.
"Rinoa, where are we going? I figured you'd be one of those teacher's who'd show me off to everyone and brag that one of your own students was in a big time play…"
"Oh, I am one of those teachers. And don't worry, I'll gush about you when you get this over with."
"Get what over with?"
Rinoa didn't answer, simply looking ahead. I followed her gaze and found a head of cherry red hair. Suddenly, this situation felt really familiar. Smirking, Rinoa turned and left.
"You can get back on your own, kid. Good luck."
I sent her an incredulous look before turning back to Kairi. She had turned towards us at some point, likely when Rinoa not so subtly told me I'm most likely lost. Which I am. Turning back, I walked over to Kairi and stood next to her. The moment my back hit the wall, she started to talk. Guess she decided to not dance around the subject and just cut to the chase.
"I'm not oblivious, you know."
… Huh?
"Um? What are you—"
"I know you were trying to ask me out all of this time."
Well… That's news. That I'm only hearing now.
"Then why—"
She cut me off again. "I didn't want to flat out turn you down. I thought if I did…you'd think I didn't feel the same way."
Whoa, wait…what?
"You…feel the same way?" Well, it was supposed to be a question. But it came out sounding more like a statement.
"I won't make the same mistake twice. If I actually didn't like you, I'd tell you," she told me with a sad smile. But why was she sad? Isn't this supposed to be a good thing?
"So, you feel the same way I do…but you're still turning me down."
"Not by choice."
…?
Sighing, Kairi shoved herself away from the wall and turned to face me directly. She seemed to be struggling with whatever she wanted to say because she kept taking deep breaths, opening and closing her mouth with a few false starts. Then, finally, she decided to spit it out. And at her words, I felt my entire body go cold.
"I can't go out with you, Sora. I'm leaving Destiny."
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A/N: CLIFFHANGER. LE GASP!
I feel like this chapter wasn't much up to snuff, though. You guys think it was okay? It's so different from the original chapter 20 that they might as well be from different stories. Yeah… So I thought this might seem a little rushed. If anyone sees anything weird they want to point out, you know the drill. Review, my duckies!