When I woke up, Sora was gone. That suited me just fine, since I couldn't face him anyway.
I laid there on my side, just staring out the window. The leaves were turning orange and red on my tree, and they were starting to drop to the ground. I don't know why, but it made me sad. So many things were changing, and I had as little control over them as I did over the leaves turning color.
I wanted someone to talk to, but I couldn't call any of my friends without having to explain everything to them. Riku and Sora came to mind, but that was out of the question. All I wanted was some human company; a human being that I could just be around without having to worry about saying anything.
I sat on my bed for a full five minutes before it finally hit me. I pulled on jeans and a new shirt – which was surprisingly painful– and I put on my ratty old sweatshirt. Tiptoeing to my door, I listened for any movement in the house. Everything was utterly silent.
I opened my door and walked as quickly as I dared down the stairs. When I got to the bottom, I listened again, but there was still nothing. I rushed out the front door, grabbing my sneakers on the way. I managed to pull on my shoes and get my bike out of the garage at the same time, keeping a sharp eye out for my parents.
When I started to walk my bike down the driveway, I noticed the sleek black Lamborghini parked in the street. The Aston Martin was gone.
So, I thought to myself, Dear old Dad isn't far away. Suddenly, looking at the expensive sports car made me livid. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't seem to think of anything that would make me feel better.
Then I noticed the brake handles on my bike.
As I was passing the car, I dug the brake handle into the shiny black paint job, causing the metal to emit a terrible screeching sound. When I made it to the other end of the car, I turned around and repeated the action. After a few minutes, I surveyed my handiwork. Deep, jagged white lines now marred the perfect exterior. There were three of them, so that they would match my dad's face.
When that was done, I rode away.
It wasn't too bad outside. It was gray and cloudy, just enough to block out the sun, but not enough to cast dark shadows. The wind was a bit crisp, but it felt good against my skin. I took a deep breath and let my mind wander as the houses flew by on either side of the street. Soon the houses changed to small office buildings, and the small office buildings turned into large office buildings. Finally, the hospital came into view.
I rode up to one of the stone benches and chained my bike to it. Then I went inside.
The nurse at the front desk looked alarmed when she saw me, despite the fact that I'd hidden most of the damage with my hood. Despite a few dubious looks, she agreed to let me visit. I could see that she was still concerned about me as I walked away, but that wasn't my problem. She worked in a hospital; she should learn to toughen up.
A nurse named Sarah led me down a series of hallways that all smelled of antiseptic. She was explaining to me that they had moved the patient from intensive care a few days ago, and that she was doing very well, considering the circumstances. I nodded a lot, never bothering to say anything. Nurse Sarah seemed happy to talk, so I let her.
She stopped in front of a tall wooden door with a window in it. She told me to wait one moment while she checked if they were ready to see visitors. She went inside, and I leaned against the wall in the hallway, watching a group of people down the hall as they helped an elderly man walk into his room.
Nurse Sarah poked her head back out of the room and smiled at me. "She's ready to see you now." She chirped. I nodded and stepped inside, letting the door close behind me.
Fuu was sitting up in her bed, eating what I assumed to be her lunch. I glanced back at Nurse Sarah, who was absently chewing a fingernail. She caught my gaze and quickly said "Right, then. Give me a buzz if you need anything, girls." She then made a hasty retreat through the door, letting it slam behind her.
I sat down in a chair, trying to figure out what to say. Starting with "hello" would have been a good idea, but the thought didn't occur to me.
Fuu glanced up at me for the first time. It was uncanny how disconcerting those eyes were, like amber searchlights. To my surprise, she held up one of the rolls on her plate, offering it to me. I stared for a moment, then shook my head. "No thanks."
She put down the roll, but she kept staring at me. It was making me uncomfortable. "What?" I snapped, surprising myself.
She blinked, shrugged, and went back to eating. Mentally I kicked myself. I hadn't come here to be mean to her. I took a deep breath and said "I'm sorry, Fuu. I'm just a bit on edge today, if you couldn't tell already." I tried to sound lighthearted and joking, but I just sounded tired. She shrugged and finished her lunch, letting me know that it wasn't a big deal.
When she was done, she stacked the plates into a neat pile on the tray and clicked a button next to her bed. A few moments later, Nurse Sarah bounced in. "You guys need something?"
Fuu held up the tray. Nurse Sarah smiled. "All right. Let me just grab that for you," she said, picking up the tray. "Is there anything else? Water, pillows, the remote for the T.V? How about you, sweetie?" she asked, looking at me. I shook my head and smiled. "No, thanks. I think we're good." She nodded once and bustled out of the room, leaving us alone.
When I looked back at Fuu, she was staring calmly at me. "Face," she commented.
My fingers absently reached up and traced along my eye. "What, this?" She nodded. "How?" she asked curiously.
I thought fast. "When I was in my kitchen, my mom opened a cabinet door too fast and it hit me in the face. It was a pretty stupid accident." I really hadn't thought that one out very well, but I couldn't come up with anything better.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She studied my face for a while, her face unreadable. She seemed to gradually come to a decision. "No," she said slowly, "not accident. Deliberate."
I shrugged. "Look, I told you what happened. It was an accident." I tried to feel worried or angry that she didn't believe me, but I could only come up blank. I realized that I just didn't care that much. I was too tired.
She thought for a minute. "Sweatshirt." She said decisively. She pointed at me. "Hiding."
I could only stare at the floor. What could I have said?
She leaned forward until she was in my line of vision. The amber searchlights got hold of me, freezing me in place. They were commanding, but also oddly comforting. "Sweatshirt." She repeated, more quietly this time, but just as firmly.
I nodded and pulled off my sweatshirt, being careful not to bump anything extra sore. I watched her eyes as they traveled along my arms. They stopped at one particular spot. "Shoes?" she asked warily. I shook my head. "No. Close, though. They were hiking boots. You know, like the kind you would wear to climb Mount Everest."
She pointed at another spot and asked "Rings?" I nodded. "Yeah, you got it." I murmured almost to myself. I sat back in the chair, wincing slightly as the plastic bit into my back.
She pressed her lips together and fell silent. Well, even more silent.
We both sat there for a while. Finally, she said "Was it Sora?"
At first I stared at her in surprise, because that was the first complete sentence I think I'd ever heard her use, then I shook my head no. "Sora would never hurt me." I replied. For some reason, I felt sure of this. I said it with about as much conviction as I could muster, which wasn't much, but it seemed to convince Fuu.
"Organization?" she tried again. I almost smiled. "No. I actually wish that was the case." I said bitterly. She didn't look like she understood that at all, so I just dropped it.
I let my gaze wander around the little room. There was a T.V, a bed, a cabinet, some medicine bottles, and a few magazines, but that was about it. I thought that if I had to stay in this place as long as Fuu, I would go stark-raving nuts.
"Do you ever get bored in here?" I wondered out loud. I think my question surprised her. "Bored?" she repeated slowly. I nodded. "Yeah. You know, do you ever get tired of being stuck in this room?"
She thought for a moment, then she shrugged. I thought that this was a weak answer, so I tried again. "All right. Has anyone come to visit you? What about Seifer, or Rai?"
I don't know what I said, but I sensed that a wall came up. "No." she said. "No one."
That's weird. I thought to myself. The whole thing was weird. Why didn't anyone come to check up on her? I realized that family was out of the picture, but her friends should at least make the effort to visit her once in a while. Come to think of it, no one had been to see her before I visited the first time. "Why haven't they? They shouldn't just ditch you like that." With each word I said, Fuu seemed to grow more agitated.
"Busy." She snapped at me. I tilted my head to one side and frowned. "Busy with what? They don't go to school. Do they work or something?"
"Just busy." She repeated sullenly, scowling at the blankets on the edge of the bed. I backed off, realizing that this conversation would not end happily if it continued.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to pry." I said resignedly. "Just thought I'd ask." I grabbed my sweatshirt off the floor and gingerly pulled it back on. I pondered whether I should stay and try to make more pleasant conversation or not, but the mere thought of it exhausted me. I looked around the room one more time and let my eyes settle on Fuu. She looked a little less angry now, but she seemed to be just as tired as I felt. Maybe leaving would be a good idea.
"Hey, I think I'm going to go now. I just wanted to come by and say hi. So, I guess I'll see you later, okay?" I crossed the room and stood in front of the door, turning back to smile half-heartedly at her. She nodded once at me, but that was all. I nodded back at her and left the room, trying not to let the door slam.
As I walked down the hall to the main entrance, I couldn't shake the look that Fuu had given me as I had closed the door. It had been so sad, so defeated. I didn't understand it. Maybe I'd hurt her unintentionally during our conversation.
I managed to clear my head when the cold air hit me outside. The temperature had dropped what felt like ten degrees since I'd been out last. I tugged my hood tighter around my face and pulled my sleeves lower to cover my hands. After a minute, I'd found my bike, unchained it, and was riding down the street when I decided not to go home yet. It wasn't like there was anything waiting for me, anyway.
I took the next left turn and ended up riding through a small residential neighborhood. The houses were small and close together, but they were neat and brightly painted. It was a part of town that I'd never seen before, and it reminded me slightly of the gingerbread cities that I had seen in bakery windows around Christmas time.
I continued through the quaint little neighborhood until the houses turned into little outlet stores, and I realized that I wasn't far from Namine's studio. I felt a small tug in my chest, because I really would have liked nothing better than to go there and hang out with Namine and her mom, but I couldn't go looking like this.
I rode down the street for a long while, probably around half an hour. My nose felt like a chunk of ice on the front of my face, and my hands were freezing. I wondered idly if I would be the first person ever to get frostbite in the fall.
I passed by a block filled with trees, hiding whatever was behind them from the street. When I rounded the corner, I realized that I knew the place. The Laundromat Seifer's family owned was the only building on this side of the street, looking exactly the way I remembered it. A sudden wave of nausea hit me, and I pedaled faster, desperate to get away from there.
I felt colder than I did before as I went on. After a while, the streets all started to look the same, and I stopped paying attention to where I was going. It really didn't matter where I was, as long as it wasn't anywhere near my dad.
For the first time all day, I wondered where my mom was. Maybe she was doing what I was doing; wandering aimlessly around town, figuring that anywhere that wasn't home was a good place to be.
I decided that I didn't hate her after all. She might be feeling the same way that I did, and that helped me to sympathize with her. I felt sorry for everything that had happened to her – and I couldn't help wondering if a lot of it was my fault. Maybe if I didn't fight with my father so much, he wouldn't be so angry all the time. Maybe he might not be so violent.
Voices broke into my thoughts. There was a lot of yelling going on, but I couldn't make out what was being said. I slowed down, curious about what was happening.
Suddenly three people emerged from behind a short brick building on the corner, a place called Carver's Hardware. An old but strong-looking man sounded like he was arguing with the younger men in front of him. I could see the unfortunate mullet haircut on the shorter one. Why would anyone ever feel the need to have that hairstyle?
I realized that I recognized him. He was Organization. And when the taller young man turned, the rows of silver in his ears caught what little light there was and glinted back at me. He'd been with Xigbar the day he'd barged into the Strife's art studio and got owned by Namine's mom.
I skidded to a stop and backed up, so I was out of sight around the corner of the building. My heart thudded in my chest, but I managed to stay quiet.
Even though I couldn't see them, I could still hear the fight. The younger men had wanted something from the old man, and he was way unhappy about it. He was refusing to give it to them, and he was telling them to "get off his property before he took one of the power saws to them." I was impressed with him in spite of myself. The guy, who had to be Carver, was about sixty-five, and he was still tough enough to threaten like that. That was a quality that could be respected.
I heard the guy with the earrings, I think his name was Luxord, speaking smoothly to Carver. He was insisting that it didn't have to be this way, and that the old man was just making it hard on himself. There was a subtle threat in his voice, barely hidden under the polite way he was speaking. I stopped breathing, hoping that the old man knew what he was getting himself into.
Carver seemed to have had enough. He cussed out the younger guys in a way that only the most drunken sailors could hope to achieve, and he went back inside his store, locking it from the inside.
Luxord stood stock still for a few seconds, then he turned to the mullet kid and said something about gas and matches.
Panic gripped me. I remembered how Sora told me about Axel being a pyro and briefly wondered if it was contagious. Toughness was one thing, but stubbornness to the point of stupidity was something else entirely. I liked the old man, even though I'd never met him; he was brave and could stand up for himself. I really didn't want anything to happen to him. They still hadn't noticed me, so I hastily turned my bike around and went back the way I had come, trying to ride around the block to find another entrance to the store.
It took about two minutes for me to find the other entrance. I dropped my bike to the ground and sprinted to the door, ignoring the pain in my legs. I tried to open it, but it was also locked from the inside. Panic hit me again, and I pounded my fist against the glass, hoping to get Carver's attention.
After about five seconds the door slammed open (narrowly avoiding smashing into me), and Carver appeared, brandishing a massive hammer. "I told you little punks to get the hell off my property!" he shouted, taking a swing at me. I ducked just in time for the huge hammer to shatter the thick glass door into a hundred pieces. He was strong for an old man.
He was about to take another swing at me, and I realized that I still had my hood up. I yanked it down and threw up my hands in front of me. "I'm not one of them!" I nearly shrieked. "I'm trying to help you!"
He stopped mid-swing and stared at me in confusion. "Who the hell are you?" he asked bluntly. I lowered my hands. "My name is Kairi Avery, Mr. Carver. And sir, I think those guys are going to try and do something –"
A resounding crash echoed through the store, startling the both of us. He turned around angrily and took two steps back into the store when an explosion tore though the building that threw me off my feet. Carver toppled over in front of me, uttering anathemas that would have made me cringe in any other situation. But at present, I started to drag him out of the building, seeing that a huge fire was starting to spread. My feet hit concrete, and Carver was able to stand without help.
We retreated a short ways into the parking lot, staring at the store. Smoke began to billow out through an open window, and several more began to crack from the heat. I looked at Carver's face; an expression of shock was frozen on his features. He glanced at me and said "How did you –"
A second blast ripped through the air, powerful enough to throw us onto the ground again. The windows and doors all blew out, sending glass flying in all directions. Luckily, none came near us.
Carver coughed something out, but I couldn't understand him. I pushed myself off the ground, my body screaming in pain, and went over to help him. When he got his breath back, I helped him stand up and asked "What did you say?" I had to almost yell over the noise. He replied, but he was still too quiet. I shook my head, frowning. "What?" I yelled.
He roughly grabbed my arm and started to pull me away from the short brick building. "We need to clear out of here!" he cried. "The fire hasn't hit the gas tanks in the fuel storage area yet!"
The gravity of that statement hit me, and I immediately picked up the pace. We headed out into the middle of the street, which was oddly empty, considering the fact that a huge fire had broken out. My bike was where I'd left it, right on the curb, and I grabbed it as we ran. Behind us, about thirty yards away, the fire spread rapidly. Finally, as we watched from the other side of the street, the entire building went up in an enormous, ground-rattling explosion. Chunks of walls and individual bricks went flying, forcing us to duck behind a parked car.
Slowly, when I was sure that the worst of it was over, I raised myself into a standing position. Carver was calling the police and the fire department with his cell phone. I could hear the woman telling him that the cops would get there in five minutes.
I stared at what had been Carver's Hardware fifteen minutes ago. A burning mass of unrecognizable material was all that remained.
I glanced down at Carver, who looked devastated. He met my gaze and said "Thank you." I shrugged. "No problem. I'm sorry about your store."
He shrugged back at me. "Eh, I've been looking for an excuse to remodel it anyways." I felt the barest smile on my lips. "Well, it looks like you'll have a lot to remodel. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what did those guys want from you? What would make them do this?"
He sighed and slumped against the car. "They've been haranguing me for weeks. I got my last warning today, I guess. They wanted me to give them tools to rebuild their garage or something. Apparently a tree had fallen on it and now they can't get to their cars." He shook his head. "Bunch of dumbass morons." He muttered under his breath.
"And who are we calling a bunch a dumbass morons?" a voice asked casually. I whirled around to find Luxord grinning at me.
"Why's it concern you?" the old man growled. The kid with the mullet snickered behind Luxord. "It concerns us," he said between high-pitched giggles, "because it's about us."
I backed up a step, almost stepping on Carver. Adrenaline pumped into my veins; my fight or flight response kicked in. I backed up again, careful not to nudge the old man. Unfortunately, Luxord noticed. "Where ya going, sweetheart? Don't you want to catch up with some friends first?" he asked, using that same politeness-to-cover-a-threat tactic.
I didn't respond. Mr. Carver looked up at me. "Do you know these boys?" he asked warily. Again, I couldn't come up with a response – my mind blanked.
"Of course she knows us, old man." Luxord smiled. "We've become close after these last few weeks – well, not as close as we'd like." I flinched.
"Son, I think you'd better leave." Carver said, getting to his feet. "It ain't polite to make a lady uncomfortable." Luxord rolled his eyes at the old man. "Why's it concern you?" he asked, parroting what Carver had said earlier. Carver shrugged. "It doesn't, really. I'm just pointing out that you should be more polite."
"Oh, okay, I see what you're saying." Luxord said thoughtfully. "You're saying I'm rude, right?"
Carver looked annoyed. "Yes, you unintelligent excuse for a human. That's what I'm saying." He folded his arms. Luxord's face turned a little red. "It isn't wise to pick a fight with me right now, old man." He said darkly. "You're supposed to be dead as it is." He looked at me. "I suppose that's your doing, then?"
I didn't say anything, but I lifted my chin defiantly and glared at them. "I'll take that as a yes," he decided. "Well, that's a problem. He wasn't supposed to be saved, you see. I have orders to take him out if he doesn't cooperate. So," he said casually, looking at Carver. "Are you going to cooperate now?" Behind him, mullet kid pulled out a small handgun.
My heart leaped into my throat. I quickly looked at Carver, willing him to say he would help. Instead, the unthinkable happened. The old man surged forward and knocked Luxord over, taking mullet kid down with them. "Run, kid!" he bellowed at me, trying to pin down the two guys at the same time.
I didn't need to be told twice. I took off at a sprint, got my bike, and started to hurry away. I heard a shot go off behind me. In utter horror, I glanced behind me, fearing that Carver was dead, but the old man had only been hit in the arm.
"Demyx, don't let her get away!" Luxord shouted to mullet kid. Demyx threw himself to his feet, looking for me. Completely terrified, I turned my attention forward, desperately trying to pedal faster. I had to get away.
Shots rang out. I instinctively ducked, but none of them were close enough to worry about. This Demyx kid wasn't a great gunman. Behind me, Luxord yelled "Gimme that!"
One shot, just one more shot, and the back wheel of my bike exploded. The bike skidded and veered violently to the right, and I kept going straight. I flipped over the handlebars, landing squarely on my back. All the breath rushed out of my lungs, and I laid there like a fish, gasping for air. After a few seconds, I slipped into blackness, not hearing or feeling anything around me.
A/N:
DEAR LORD DON'T KILL ME FOR TAKING FOREVER!
I promise I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible.
Review, please.
