The Rebirth of a Dragoon

Based on: Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. The OCs featured in this fic belong to various friends. Note that while the characters belong to friends, I am the one writing the fic itself. Thank you to Tibby-san and MajoHikari for continued support of this little story.

Notes: You don't like this, don't read it. I'm not writing it for you. Also, name change!

Warnings: Eventually all this stuff on this list: Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, incest, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar

FIC START!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ffamran walked along with Kain, even though he was obviously angry about the whole situation. He wasn't going to let Kain put one hand on him over this, so he decided to simply go along with what Canti had decided. For him to see her ceremony. Maybe he'd get a bit more understanding into the Highwind family's traditions, and he'd learn something that he could use to make them suffer.

"You know, she might believe you more after this," Ffamran muttered at Kain once they'd finally reached the main foyer where all the guests had gathered. "She was telling me how she didn't want to believe you about me, but that I'd proved you right. She was on the verge of tears. Poor thing."

"I don't care about that," Kain replied soundly.

"Yes, you do. You were jealous of me in that cafe. I saw it on your face. She cried on me, not you, and you hated me for it," Ffamran was almost laughing.

"The only reason I'm putting up with you at all is because I will not be responsible for ruining Canti's ceremony, don't get the wrong idea," Kain's tone was still quiet, as the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to the fact that he was leading a Bunansa to the guest seats. Once he'd reached where Minwu, Vivi, Tidus, Hikari, and Crystal were seated, Kain pushed Ffamran into a seat. "Please, do me a favor, and stay here. If I see you get one strand of hair out of the guest seating area, I will skewer you and deliver to your father a corpse."

"I imagine he'd like that," Ffamran quipped. "The old man and I have never agreed on anything. Hell, after sitting through this, I'll be amazed if he lets me in his house as long as I live."

Kain grunted in disgust before using a Jump and disappearing from sight.

"...do I even want to know why you're here?" Minwu asked, taking a few bites of a piece of cake that had come from a thirty-tier tripple ripple fudge mountain only a few steps away from where they were seated.

"You'd probably be disgusted with me for it, same as everyone else…" he whispered.

"I'll bet you all the gil in my wallet that I'm more disgusted with Kain than anything you'd be up to," Minwu said. "You want some cake? Kain said you can't get it, but that doesn't mean I won't get it for you."

"Ha. And here I thought you two were best friends."

"If you believe the relationship I have with Kain is that of best friends, you don't know us that well."

"You came to his ceremony last year."

"I was the only one he invited. I honestly felt bad for him. Now he's hell-bent on having me join the family, and I don't want this sort of life."

"Highwinds are impossible to befriend. Honestly," Ffamran said with a long sigh.

"No they're not!" Hikari said. "Canti's a great person!"

"...maybe because she's the only one that's not of their blood," Ffamran said, shrugging. "Maybe because she's not been raised from day one with this mentality, that they are the only ones allowed to ride the wind. That's why they have that name! They believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they should be the only ones to ride the wind! Like they're blessed or something!"

Some had heard these comments and started coming closer to the guest seating area. Voices behind them murmured, carrying an air of superiority. This was the Highwind Manor, the home of the Grand Dragoon and the central location for all of the family's doings, after all. There were some that simply would never be able to tolerate this sort of disrespect. Ffamran knew that feeling. He'd felt it before a few times, especially from Kain.

"I wouldn't say that I'm in total agreement," another voice came from behind him. "But I wouldn't say that I totally disagree with such claims, either."

Hikari recognized that voice. She turned her head, pushing her pink hair from her face. "Mateus?! Did… Did Canti invite you?"

Mateus shook his head. "Actually, no. I would have been more than honored, but…" He pointed his thumb behind him, leading the group to peer back there to see Senator Palamecia was making small talk with many of the people in the Highwind family with political power. "I detest these high society events, but there was one little rose I wished to see…"

"Kain will toss you out the moment he notices you're here," Crystal said bluntly. "You might want to go hide in the cake or something."

"And be a bachelor surprise? Come now. Even you can see that would be a massive mistake at an event like this," Mateus said, making a motion to the wall that all of the seats were facing. "Over there. That's where they keep the family treasure for the ceremony."

"What happens at the ceremony, anyway?" Tidus asked.

"The newest dragoon in training will approach the treasure and be given a little bit of its power," Minwu said. "This will gift them with the ability to ride the wind."

"Not that the little rose needs more power," Mateus said, smiling. "Such a lovely addition to an all ready enchanting little girl."

Hikari looked back at him again. The way he said that sounded both like he admired it and that he was thinking malicious thoughts at the same time, which made her feel weird. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but it filled her with a sense of dread.

It didn't take long after that for Cid to appear, clapping his hands to catch the attention as everyone in the room. "If all our guests would please be seated and all the Highwinds please gather here, the ceremony will begin," he said. People began to move and shuffle around. Since Mateus was all ready sitting there, his father came to accompany him. It was better seats than what the Senator was expecting, being right behind the personal guests of the newest dragoons. Once everyone was seated, all of the lights were put out. A pale green light shined in the direction that Mateus had pointed at before. When Tidus wanted to say something, Minwu looked back at everyone and motioned for them all to be silent, as this was not the time to make any sort of commentary.

"Hear us, Cosmos, Goddess of Harmony."

It wasn't one voice. It was many.

"Bless our family once again through the instrument of your power, the Wind Crystal."

It didn't take a lot of guesswork to figure out that it was all of the Highwind family members saying this at the same time, almost like a chorus. Soon more pale green lights appeared around the one in the center. One for each member of the family. The lights grew larger, but only enough to show each person with the power staring straight up at the crystal. They all lifted their lances, all of them shimmering with the light of a weapon meant only for the one that held it, chanting something in a language that none of the guests could identify.

"We offer up our newest dragoon!"

The center light descended to reveal Canti, facing the crowd, standing in the center of the semi-circle of family members. The light came down far enough for her to reach for the light, and when she took it into her hands, it burst out in a bright flash.

"Bless our child with the power of wind!"

All of the lights from each of the family members flowed around her, lifting her off the ground. She was lifted high above everyone else, showing all who had come to see the ceremony exactly who it was that had been accepted for once and for all into the Highwind family.

"I'm sorry for you, princess," Balthier whispered. "Now you don't get to live freely. You belong to the name now…"

When Canti was placed once again onto the floor, the lights turned back on and the whole family of Highwinds applauded. All of the applause ended when she turned around and began to speak. "I feel it," she said proudly. "I'm a dragoon! The power of the wind flows within me! Thank you, Highwind family… thank you to my friends for being here. Thank you, everyone!"

The applause began again, and Canti drew her spear into her left hand to stand in a commanding pose before the whole world. Now she knew she finally had a place to belong, and everything else that had come before didn't matter. The worries about her past and where she had come from faded away. But the moment she started to move away from where she was standing, so she could go see everyone, she fell over onto the floor. It seemed so uncharacteristic for someone blessed with the power of the wind to be such a klutz, but Canti was prone to tripping.

"Cousin, you're the clumsiest dragoon that's ever been," Kain said, shaking his head. But he was just as proud of it as anyone else. He loved seeing that smile on her face. He loved knowing that she finally belonged somewhere, because that was something that had always bothered her in every day life.

But Canti didn't get back up.

"Cantirena?!" Cid came rushing out of the ranks of his family to bend down to check on her. "What happened?!" Her eyes were open, but he didn't see her actual eyes. They were all filled with the magic from the wind crystal. He shook her lightly to see if he could get her to stir, but she didn't. "R-Richard!"

The Grand Dragoon himself came out of the family ranks and bent down to look at her. He whispered into his brother's ear, "the crystal hasn't let her go for some reason."

"That doesn't make any sense. It always has before," Cid whispered. "How do we wake her? We always have the party after this… This is… sacred tradition!"

"...she also isn't of our blood," Richard whispered back. "Perhaps the pact we took with the crystal will not recognize one adopted."

"That's ridiculous…" Cid said. "…she is a Highwind, the same as the rest of us! I believe that! If the crystal doesn't accept her, then we'll both leave the family. I won't be without my daughter."

"...Cid… I accept her…" He put his hand on Canti's forehead and murmured a few lines. "…we all accept her… I only pray that the crystal will accept her."

Mateus nodded to himself as he watched all of this go down. So many others were confused by what was going on, but he wasn't. He only smiled more at this. "Father," he said, leaning over to Senator Palamecia. "Would you be averse to me marrying into this family?"

"You have always possessed a taste for power, my son," the Senator said, not taking his eyes off of the situation in front of them. "You know what just happened, do you not?"

"Of course I do," he said smugly. "She wasn't just gifted the ability to ride the wind… her mind is on magic overload. I've seen her power at the Garden's Initiation, and I must admit… I quite enjoy the idea of being married to someone of such ability."

"Her father would never approve. I spoke with him only today about your interest in her, and he has made it clear that I must forbid you from speaking to her."

"But if I were to make her fall for me, she could run with me to you, should you approve," Mateus said, having all ready thought of that.

"Oh, but of course I approve… I'd hate to be the one to cause two who had just found love to be split apart because of some baseless belief that we're hungry for power," the Senator said. "I just love making young lovers happy."

"...then I plan to do all in my power to make it happen, Father. I will make her love me."

"That sounds absolutely splendid. You have my blessing."

It seemed that Canti had come out of whatever it was that had her by then, and the party went on as usual. Kain had told both his uncle and his father that he would make it his personal duty to look after her for the rest of the day, and considering just how honorable he'd always been known to be, they approved of the idea. He led her over to where her friends were sitting so they could all congratulate her on… whatever that was.

"How are you feeling?" was Minwu's first question. It was his trained duty, as he was a white mage in training, after all. "Are you in any pain at all?"

"No," she said. "I felt weird, but it wasn't painful. It was like when I used that barrier… but much more intense. My mind was totally engulfed by it. I couldn't see or react to anything around me, but I… I was lost in that energy…"

"Congratulations on becoming the newest dragoon, Canti," Mateus said from behind the guest seats. He stood up, reaching out to at least touch her.

"...what? You're here, too?" Canti asked.

"Of course he is," Kain grunted. "Senator Palamecia provided the catering for this event to thank Father and Uncle Cid for helping get the Schizo monster alive out to the monster farm."

Hikari thought, that totally explains why Kain said he was refusing to eat anything served here…

"Thank you, Senator," she said politely, doing a little curtsy. "I wanted to invite Mateus, but I thought it would be impossible. But… you got to be here anyway… what a stroke of luck."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Mateus said gently. "Enjoy the spread. I heard that you loved chocolate cake, so I ordered the biggest chocolate cake that's ever been made in the history of Daggureo just for your special day."

Canti giggled. "You did what?!" she asked. "You're crazy!"

"What? You deserve it!" he said, looking into her eyes. "So, please, go eat as much as you like. Have fun with your friends."

She agreed, motioning for her friends to follow her. "Thank you, Mateus. You flatter me," she said, walking over to him to give him a peck on the cheek. Kain pulled her closer to him as he glared at Mateus. He only winked at Kain in return. "All right. I haven't eaten anything but yesterday's leftovers before the sunrise. I'm famished and ready to stuff my face!"

Kain then turned his head to Ffamran and used his free arm to point to the door. "I suppose I should eat something too. If I refuse to eat this, I won't be eating anything for a while. We'll be eating all of this for days. I highly urge all of you to take as much as you can carry home with you."

Ffamran turned to leave, disappointed at the lack of results in his efforts, but at least he had more to report on what the Wind Crystal was being used for. He left without a bite to eat or anything more to say to anyone else.

The group of friends ate and talked about all sorts of things until the night fell. Most everyone left together, as Minwu agreed to lead them back to the neighborhood where all of them lived. Canti and Kain sat together alone. She leaned onto him, feeling safe being that close to him. It only reminded him of his forbidden feelings for her.

"Kain," she whispered.

"Yes?" he whispered in return.

"Balthier, he said things today that made me worry."

"You've no need to worry about him any longer. If he comes near you again, I won't hesitate to-"

"I don't mind him being near me. Heaven forbid we have a class together in the future for some reason," she said, shaking her head. "No. It's just that. He said that the Wind Crystal wasn't always in the possession of the Highwind family. That it originally belonged to the Bunansas, but Leviathan gave it to the Highwinds. That's why there's a bitter relationship between the two families. I don't know if you know anything about it, but…"

"Canti. I don't know anything about the crystal or its history. That is for the Grand Dragoon alone. I won't be able to learn anything about it until I take up that position after my father's death," Kain said quietly. "He wanted to rile you up, saying that kind of thing. Bunansas will do anything to take anything away from us, and now you know that I wasn't lying to you. I have no reason to lie."

"Kain… I… I'm so sorry I didn't listen…"

"Don't worry. Everything will be all right. Tomorrow morning, Uncle Cid and I have all ready agreed that we're going to teach you how to Jump. You're a Highwind now and forever…" Kain said gently. He watched her yawn and lean into him further. "…and I will always watch over you."

"One day you will marry and have your own heirs to fuss over. You won't be able to always watch over me. You'll have more important ones to watch over."

"No… I will be married only to my work. I will always have time for you. However, you will marry."

"I don't think I will, either."

"...there are some who have taken a liking to you…" Kain said, not wanting to admit that he was one of them. But he had seen the way other boys looked at her, and he knew that they were eager to get to her.

"I'm too weird to marry."

"That is so not true, Canti. Men will want to be with you when you grow up! I can promise you this!"

"How?!"

"...because I'm certain that Minwu likes you."

"Minwu? But he and I only study together in our Mysidian Class, and-"

"He likes you a lot. He's told me."

"No… no way. He's too busy working to be a white mage that he couldn't have the time to look at me like that. I mean, he's very nice, and handsome, but…"

"If you like him, you should tell him!"

"Cousin, why are you playing matchmaker? You're always so serious. This sounds like something a gossiping girl would do, not a serious dragoon in training like you."

"Because, Canti, I want you to be happy more than anything else."

She leaned into him more, yawning again, but much more loudly this time. "Kain," she said very quietly, "I'm happy… like this…" Canti had fallen asleep on him, and he just blushed brightly about it.

"I am, too…" he said, nuzzling his cheek into her hair. "…if only you weren't my cousin, I could be honest…"