36) your pictured patron (leon) for SilverInkblot
Leon finds something unexpected in the office of Ansem the Wise.
Leon is looking over the DTD etching on the wall when he sees it. It's barely visible underneath a wad of papers, pens, and other miscellany. The black edge gleams just a bit, catching his eye, piquing his interest.
He kneels, fishes the edge out from between status reports and laboratory specs. It's broken. Leon is careful not to cut his fingers on the glass. The image staring back at him is both sweet and horrifying. Actually, Leon can hardly believe that this particular item, of all the things left in the office, was what he happened to chance upon.
The hair is absolutely unmistakable; it seems the rest of the figure is simply confirming the identity that the red locks suggest. The tiny girl is smiling big with all of the sugary sweetness you'd expect of a four-year-old. She holds the hand of Ansem the Wise. Maybe he's imagining it, but it seems that the outside of her mouth is ringed in blue syrup, the same color ice cream that Donald's uncle is always trying to re-create.
Leon stares at Kairi's photo in the broken frame for quite some time. Did Ansem know he'd be shipping her off to an unknown world? Was he trying to make some kind of amends for the life she was about to be dumped into? Was he simply showing a fatherly love for one of the many children he looked after?
A noise breaks the silence. It's a few Heartless in the corridor, probably getting into a scrap with the Nobodies he's seen prowling recently. He goes to set the picture frame down, then pauses. Was it a reminder of a confused past and a patron saint who brought untold pain, or a treasured memory of a childhood not documented?
After a moment of contemplation, he tucks it into his jacket, then trots off to deal with the upstarts in the hall. At least one of his problems could be easily dealt with.
Wow, I did an actual prompt! I do have some of them lying around somewhere.
College is crazy, in good and bad ways. Updates will be scattered. I also find myself back in the Naruto fandom, expressing my utter undying love for Aburame Shino... cue fangirl sigh.
Sorry about sporadic review replies. I have vowed to myself to reply RIGHT when I read them, so my appreciation will be vocalized this chapter!
-Akiko