Rebirth of a Holy Dragoon

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. OCs belong to various friends. I think you know the drill by now.

Notes: None at the moment, just keeping this here in case there are in the future.

Warnings: All the stuff I've listed for the last 34 chapters and then some. You haven't figured them out, then you probably aren't paying attention. Why are you here again?

FIC START!

Chapter Thirty-five

Before Canti could even make it out the door from Chorus once the bell had given the signal for the end of class, Mateus managed to catch up to her. Usually, he'd let her go on her way and just watch her until she was on the other side of the main Garden building, but if he was going to be assertive while dealing with her, he was going to have to make a start. "Please," he said, "I know this is abrupt, but I would like to spend more time with you."

"We have a class together, and we've had our little talks during the breaks," Canti said quietly. "I don't know what you mean by… spending more time together."

"Outside of class. Outside of school," Mateus said, his voice holding a tone to let her know that it was less of a request and more of a demand. It made her feel a little uneasy hearing him speak like that. "I wish to do more with you."

"It's a long walk to Professor Bismark's classroom, Mateus. Can we please talk about this some other time?" she suggested. "I'd rather not be tardy."

"Bismark…" Mateus mumbled. "…you're heading to a language class, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"...then I will escort you, as yours is merely a stop along the way from my own," he said gently.

That's not what she wanted to hear… well, whatever. She sighed. "Fine," she gave a nod. "We need to leave now before I'm late. Minwu really hates it when others are late." Canti got a good grip onto her spear and started walking in that direction.

"Minwu?" the tall blonde inquired. "Oh… now I see." He walked alongside her, though he noticed that because of how short she was, it was very easy to leave her behind if he walked at her normal pace. "You're studying that ancient language, the one he's always using under his breath."

"Yes…" she said.

"I don't understand what use it could be to study a dead language, but that's not up to me. That's up to the tests," Mateus grunted, shaking his head. "Those in power know what our purpose is, and that's all we live by… doesn't have to make any sense."

"You said you want to be able to spend more time with me," Canti said, not even looking over at him as they walked side by side. "I have no idea what you want to do."

"Be around you. Do things with you. Aren't we friends?" he said, not sure of what to suggest to instantly make her agree to spending time with him. "What do you like to do?"

"I like…" she wondered how she should answer that. There were things she did like doing. She watched cartoons on the Sphere, she loved to read books, she loved to dance in the rain and watch the clouds or the stars from atop their tiny little house. And now she was devoting time outside of school to practice with her chosen weapon on top of all of that. But most of those things, she didn't share with anyone except Papa Cid. She didn't want to give up those things for whatever it was that Mateus wanted to do. Even if they were friends. She wanted to do her favorite things alone. "…to do things alone."

Mateus blinked a few times, and those short little legs of hers kept on going at a brisk pace. He was completely stumped. What kind of girl didn't want to do things with friends? He kept walking, heading to his next class, and he watched her as she turned into a door in the side of the hall now closest to them. As he went past that door, he could see that she'd all ready met up with Minwu. He was going to have to do something to get her attention, but he wasn't sure what just yet.

…

Canti was annoyed. Minwu could see it in her face, clear as day. As they waited for Bismark's door to come open, he looked at her, but her eyes never met with his. He noticed her breathing and how she carried herself. She could have thrown everything she carried in a fit of frustration, but she was doing her best to keep herself together. Minwu reached over to put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't react to it.

"Have you done any study over the weekend?" he asked quietly. Minwu expected to hear that she hadn't even though about studying since before the ceremony or since. She'd had a lot to deal with the last weekend, and with that look, there must have been more through today, too.

"No, but I did have a chance to write down what I would like to ask you about earlier," she answered flatly, not even bothering to look up at him. "If you don't mind. You've been a great tutor."

"Though I am quite certain your mind is not on the books as of now."

"No, Minwu. I know that now we're supposed to study," Canti said. "So that's what we'll do."

That wasn't of much help. Mysidian was a language that took dedication and concentration to learn. Minwu gave a little sigh before he tried to say anything to her again. "Did Kain… say anything to you when you went off alone?" he asked.

"No. And you're not the only person to ask me about that since, either," she snapped at him. "Why does everyone care so much about what happened between me and Kain?!"

"I don't care what happened between you and Kain," Minwu said back at her just as sharply. "That is not of my concern, however, if I am going to be teaching you, then I would like to understand why I do not have your full attention." He shook his head. "What happens in your family is your business." He rolled his eyes and knocked on the door of Bismark's classroom.

The door opened with a half sleepy Bismark standing there. He was in shambles, as usual. Minwu could have punched him where he stood, but he didn't have the strength to bother with that. Bismark moved out of the way to allow them both to step in the classroom and then shut the door behind Canti once she was inside. He then went back to his desk and promptly went right back to sleep.

"What was it, that you wanted to ask about?" Minwu asked once he and Canti had sat down the same way they always did.

"I was looking through this book this morning, and I found a passage…" she pulled out her notebook and the text to show him. It was towards the middle of the book, further from where he had taught her before. "I think it's supposed to be a poem? But when I tried to read it, I felt something. It… I don't even know how to describe how it made me feel."

Minwu took a closer look at the place she pointed at. He gasped as he read it through. "This is no mere poem," he said as he read it. "This… this is…"

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "I… I cannot tell you what this is. I did not believe you would be going through the text beyond what we were going over…" Minwu quickly looked over at Bismark. He thanked his lucky stars that the so-called professor was such a useless fop for the first time ever. "…what of it did you understand?"

"The word 'open' is in there, but not much else."

Minwu didn't give the book back. He shoved it back into his bag. "What was I thinking, giving you this? I'll be bringing the book back every day for class," he said quickly. "Of course a mind like yours is always going to want to learn as much as it can on its own…" He felt his pulse become faster and faster, like he was being engulfed in fear.

"What's wrong, Minwu?" Canti asked, not sure of what triggered him so harshly.

"Nothing," he said, doing all he could to calm himself down. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I've… I'm not… no, no, I won't have you be taken…" He thought he would have a heart attack if he couldn't stop this rapid pulsating.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, leaning over to put her hands on him. "Calm down, please…" Canti tried to do as Minwu had always done for her by channeling positive feelings through her hands, like casting a cure spell for the mind. She didn't know if it was going to work, but simply had to try. "Please… calm down."

Minwu noticed that his heart was calming down. It wasn't magic, but it was something. He was able to catch his breath, and once he was back to being his calm self, he was able to look at her. "Canti?"

"You… helped me…"

"Of course. You've always done the same for me," she said very quietly, "So, because I did, you have to answer my question. What is that passage? Why did it make you have a fit like that? What do you mean by... taken?"

Minwu looked once again at the professor to make sure he was in a deeper sleep than usual, and then he went to make sure that the door into the classroom was locked from the inside. Then he sat down and peered directly into her bright blue eyes. "There is a reason why I am the only fluent speaker and reader on this side of the barrier," he whispered, leaning close to her. "My family, or what's left of it, was taken."

"Taken?" Canti asked, cocking her head to the side. "But why?"

"Because the seal of the barrier is cast in Mysidian," Minwu replied. "And only someone who understands the seal can go through it."

"...why would there be a way to break the barrier that holds the enemy away?" Canti asked again.

"I wish I knew. I've been studying everything my parents left behind in between having a purpose for the good of all the people to keep those in power from questioning my motives," Minwu kept whispering. "They knew what was on the other side of the barrier, and they knew how to get it."

"Who would take your family?"

"Who else keeps us all under control because we are preparing for the battle with the enemy on the outside?" he asked. "Everyone is trained for that exact purpose, Canti. That's is what we're here for, isn't it?" When Bismark looked like he wanted to sit up, Minwu murmured something and cast a spell on him, causing the wayward professor to pass right back out.

Canti couldn't help but think that the first thing she would do when she got home was tell her Papa about what she knew. He could tell Uncle Richard, and they could go from there. They had power, they could investigate this, right?! Maybe the Dragoons could help rescue Minwu's parents, or… something! They could do something about all this!

"I know you wish to run and tell those in your family with political power that you know of this, but I must stress to you how bad of an idea this really is. The Grand Dragoon is one of the highest ranks within the government and one of Leviathan's most loyal followers. You may be a Highwind, accepted by the family and everything, but let me assure you, you'd either be taken or… changed."

"Changed?!"

"Altered somehow. I've noticed many around the hospital who are not the same after they have a meeting with someone in the government," Minwu continued. "It has no explanation whatsoever, and they're physically healthy. But they're not the same. Their memory goes blank, some forget who they even are." He reached for her and hugged around her tightly. "I refuse to let them take you or change you. I can't allow that. There has to be another fluent in this language to help me solve this. Once I do, maybe I can see what it was that my family was seeking so passionately."

"Minwu, can I tell you a secret?"

"I've just told you my most prized secret. I don't see a reason why not."

"I made a decision. That was not made for me," Canti said with a quiet little giggle. "They say everything is determined by the tests. The classes we take and how we learn to fight, right? Well. I decided that I'm going to be a pilot. My Papa Cid was a pilot before he adopted me. He flew beyond the barrier. I'm going to do the same thing."

"Your father was a pilot?"

"Yes! An airship pilot! He did missions for the government before he adopted me. If I become a pilot, then I can get whatever it is your family was looking for. Maybe I can even take you there!"

Minwu shook his head. "You know making a decision like that would put you under watch from the government. You know that, right?"

"Don't worry. The only people who know are you and Kain. I won't tell anyone else."

"..."

"Do me a favor, Minwu."

"Whatever you'd like."

"I need to be as fluent as possible in Mysidian. I know that whenever I get to wherever is beyond the barrier, I'm going to need to be able to understand the people that use the language. I know they're out there. I just have to get to them," Canti said. "My destiny is to go outside the barrier one way or another."

"I will do everything I can to help you, Canti. If I cannot go, then I will need someone else to go in my stead." He gripped her tighter. "Cosmos bless you."

…

Once class was done for the day, Canti walked outside around the giant golden statue of Cosmos. She was with Crystal and Hikari, who were both being followed by a big group of friends. As they were heading off campus, Kain caught up to Canti and whispered in her ear, "Would you mind taking a detour on your way home with me?"

Canti turned without even saying goodbye to everyone else. When Kain made a jump up, she followed right after him, going out of sight and earshot to the rest of the group.

"...that doesn't surprise me at all," Crystal said.

"Me, either," Hikari agreed.

Kain and Canti kept jumping through trees and on top of buildings, until they ended up far from school and much higher up than any normal person could ever reach unless they were dragoons themselves.

"I've been meaning to speak to you privately for a while," Kain said. "Forgive me, I haven't had the chance since-"

"Kain…"

"…yes, Canti?"

"I don't understand why you kissed me."

"Because I love you," he said, taking her hands. "I want to be with you, always. A kiss is a symbol of affection. I wanted to show you exactly how much I want to be with you." Kain smiled at her, wanting to hold her close forever and ever, but she just looked up at him, confused.

"I don't know how to answer that," she said, looking away. "I'm… I just…"

Kain put his hand on her head. "You don't have to make up your mind right now. It's all right. You might not understand it now, but you will later. Just know that I'm always going to be here for you. That's all that matters."