Kairi sat beside Sora with her jaw hanging open, unable to believe what she had just heard. She glanced at the door to their study room and quickly made sure it was locked so that no one would enter. When she did, she whipped around and leaned against the door.
"How is this even possible?" She asked Sora incredulously.
The spiky-haired youth shook his head and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "I don't know, but that's what Jasmine told me," Sora answered. "I never had a clue any of this was going on."
Kairi ran over to Sora and held out her hand. "Let me see the picture again," she demanded.
Sora reached into his math textbook and pulled out the photo that Jasmine showed him yesterday. She allowed him to keep it seeing as it was just a copy, but advised him against showing it to a lot of people. Kairi scanned over the photo of Sora, Jasmine, and Vanitas when they were younger and pulled back her maroon-colored bangs.
"So let me get this straight, Sora," Kairi began as she started to pace the table in the small study room. "Jasmine and Vanitas were friends when they were younger but after your aunt and uncle died Vanitas went to live with another uncle and they didn't meet again until Jasmine's junior year – but she doesn't remember a single thing about it."
"Bingo," Sora replied tiredly. While he was happy to see Jasmine, the information she had was a lot for him to take in at the time. "I don't know why she can't remember, and she can't figure it out either."
Kairi leaned against the wooden table they sat at. "Most people don't remember their early childhoods. I know I don't," she reasoned.
Even so, both of them knew that Jasmine had an excellent memory and for her to simply forget such an important part of her life seemed unlikely.
"And Vanitas has calmed down." Kairi had a hard time letting the words out. She almost couldn't believe that Vanitas would ever change and settle down.
"That's what Jasmine told me. She said he was calm and never tried to hurt her, but that's only because of what his doctor put him on." Sora huffed and leaned back in his chair, being oh-so careful as to not fall back. "You know," Sora began thoughtfully, "now that I think about it…I almost feel bad for him. I've heard stories about Uncle Xehanort and none of them start or end well. I've never really been around him but from what I remember he was a bit…creepy."
"Is that why your dad doesn't speak to him?" Kairi inquired.
Sora said, "Yeah. They haven't spoken since my uncle and aunt died. In fact, they tried to keep a lot of distance from him."
Kairi did her best to absorb the story. She never imagined there to be so many secrets in Sora's family. While his parents were lovely people, Kairi always wondered about Sora's uncles. Now she understood why Sora never really went too in depth about his family.
Kairi exhaled and slowly, a smile appeared on her face. "But Jasmine is okay, right?"
"Looks that way." Sora smiled too, happy that his friend was out of that madness. "She's really tired but she doesn't seem as angry anymore. Like, she was almost mellow. I'm glad she's okay now."
Just then, Kairi's eyes lit up and she went bouncing over to Sora. "So how about we have a welcome back party for her? Do you think she'd come?"
Sora reeled back and almost fell out of his chair when Kairi ran up to him. He quickly grabbed the table and pulled himself forward so that all four legs of the chair were planted on the floor. "You know, I mentioned it to her…"
"And?" Kairi's eyes widened with excitement.
"She said she wouldn't mind seeing everyone," Sora trailed off.
Kairi jumped for joy and began pacing around the room again, this time going over party plans. "So I'm thinking we could do it at my house – but we'd have to call her and see what days she's available because she's working all the time – and then we'll have to make sure we have food, decorations, cake – do you think she still likes cake? Oh who cares it'll be there whether she wants it or not," Kairi rambled on.
Sora tried to calm Kairi down. She was beginning to be more like Selphie with the whole party planning thing. "Uh we can do that but…we do have a problem…" Sora trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
"What problem?" Kairi placed a hand on her hip.
After a few seconds of silence Kairi's smile shrank to nothing. "Oh…that's right…"
"Riku," Sora deadpanned.
"I mean," Kairi tried to think of a way to make the situation less awkward than it probably would be, "he knows why she left now. And Riku has really humbled himself."
"But!" Sora piped up, his grin returning. "I've already went to work on that."
"Really?" This time Kairi's eyebrow was raised. "How do you plan on making this work so that Jasmine and Riku don't kill each other at the party?"
Sora's grin spread from ear to ear, his smile full of satisfaction. "Well we had a talk yesterday when we met up and…"
Jasmine gave Sora an annoyed stare as they sat by the beach, leaning against her car. "Are you serious?"
Sora cringed. He knew that this would not be an easy topic but it had to be discussed. "Come on, Jasmine. You should see Riku."
The girl swore under her breath and frowned. "So he can call me a gold-digging slut all over again? I think I'll pass."
Sora recalled the night of Naminé's event. Even he had to admit that it wasn't exactly a shining moment in Riku's life. "You know he was just hurt."
Jasmine pointed a finger to the sky and looked ahead at the ocean. "Drunken words are sober thoughts, Sora. Take that from someone who basically threw up her feelings during the entire time she was engaged to Vanitas. Even if he didn't mean it, he intentionally tried to hurt me."
Sora sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping forward. He had to be smarter about how he approached this. How else would he be able to repair Jasmine and Riku's relationship? Or at least get them to the point where they don't want to kill each other if they were in the same room together.
"I know what he did was wrong, but I do get why he was hurt," Sora added. "He proposed and you left. That would hurt anyone."
Jasmine whirled around to face Sora, her irritation clear on her face. "You know I wanted to be with him," she growled. "You know that if I had a choice I would've stayed. But I didn't. There comes a point where I can't keep looking back on that incident." Jasmine exhaled and leaned back against her car.
While Sora was initially caught off guard by Jasmine's ferocity on the subject, he could see why she felt that way. It had been over a year since Riku's proposal and, while there needed to be some closure on the issue, neither Riku nor Jasmine could harp on it forever. But still, Sora was sure that once the two of them talked it out, there would be a bit of a peace.
"You're right," Sora agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You guys can't stay stuck in the past. But…" Sora hesitated and eventually trailed off.
"But?" Jasmine inquired, wondering what it was that Sora was thinking of.
"But…there is one thing I'd like to ask of you," Sora began. "And you don't have to answer right away, just give it a day or two."
She nodded, knowing deep within her that the request Sora was about to make would be a big one. "Shoot."
"I do want to get everyone together. I know you miss them as much as we miss you. So would you at least consider having lunch with Riku first? You know, to talk things out?"
Jasmine's eyes hardened yet beneath her stone cold exterior her heart raced. "You want for me and Riku to have lunch?"
Sora ran to Jasmine and put his hands on her shoulders. "Come on, Sis. It would mean the world to me. And I think it might help you too. Please?"
Jasmine hated to see Sora practically begging. It was clear how much he cared about both Riku and her. All he wanted was there to be some sort of end to this feud so that everyone could go one with their lives.
And if Jasmine could have a decent conversation with Vanitas of all people, then in theory lunch with Riku wouldn't be the death of her.
"I'll do it," Jasmine said finally.
Sora's eyes lit up. "Really? You'll do it?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I'll have lunch with him. You're right," Jasmine sighed. "I guess it's time we ended this mess. I know it's been a stress on everyone – and I'm sorry for that – but I'll clear up my schedule so we can meet."
"I can't believe you were able to talk her into meeting with him," Kairi said finally, still in complete awe over the situation.
Sora smiled in satisfaction. "Well, that is my big sis. She gave me her business number for emergencies but said that we could call her old number."
"I really feel like you would be one of the only people who could've made this happen," Kairi laughed, happy that an end to the madness would come sooner rather than later. "Well, I guess we can start the party planning once we know when Riku and Jasmine meet up."
Kairi kissed Sora's cheek, causing the boy to blush fiercely, relishing the fact that she still had that effect on him. "You're something else, Sora."
"I don't know what I was thinking." Jasmine paced around her room with her phone pressed to her ear. She glanced out of the floor to ceiling window and pulled her lips into an even tighter frown than before. It had been raining for the past few days ever since Jasmine's meeting with Sora. Judging from the weather, it only meant that she was in for a nightmare when she agreed to meet with Riku, although she had to admit that it was silly to base signs of the future off the weather. "I should have never said I'd go, Tifa. What do I do?"
Tifa was surprised to hear from Jasmine so soon after she left. But she couldn't deny the fact that she was happy Jasmine called her. It was almost like old times on the island.
"Well you promised Sora that you'd go," Tifa gently reminded her. "You have to honor your agreement. Besides, it'll be good for you and Riku. Now you two can finally clear the air."
Jasmine swallowed the lump in her throat and sat on the edge of her bed near her nightstand. She pulled open the top drawer and shifted inside before she pulled out an old photograph of her and Riku with his parents. Jasmine's heart began to ache. She truly was happy then with him even though it was just for a short while.
Collecting herself quickly, Jasmine threw the picture back in the drawer, shut it and slipped her feet into her house slippers.
"What do I even say to him?" Jasmine asked as she slipped one of her hands into the pocket of her oversized hoodie.
Tifa sighed heavily and Jasmine just knew that Tifa was shaking her head. She could feel a mini-lecture coming on. "I can't believe he proposed to you. I wish you would have told me. Maybe I could have tried to talk to Tseng and have given you more time."
Jasmine reached for the tie holding her hair into a messy bun and removed it, allowing her long hair to flow freely now. "Tseng was not going to go easy on me. I'm surprised he made me write that stupid "dear John" note to begin with."
"Well he doesn't like leaving loose ends. You know that just as well as I do."
Jasmine took off her glasses and put them on the dresser. She could hear rumbling outside of her bedroom. Perhaps Noctis came back with Prompto and the others. "Still, I'm not looking forward to this. Sora told me that Riku's calmed down a lot. But…" Jasmine trailed off hesitantly.
Tifa immediately knew what Jasmine was hinting at. "But you don't know if you guys can work out your issues."
Jasmine remained quiet, her silence being all the answer Tifa needed.
"The thing is, sweetheart," Tifa started slowly. There was chatter in the background and Jasmine could faintly make out Aerith and Yuffie's voices. Jasmine smiled then. It felt like things were almost back to the way they used to be. "You'll never know if you can fix this problem unless you guys talk. But you do have to keep in mind that with your position in SOLDIER it's hard to be in a relationship, especially as a woman."
This conversation wasn't new to Jasmine. When she first arrived in SOLDIER she'd gotten quite the lecture from Tseng and her other superiors on how she needed to push her personal affairs to the backburner if she wanted to survive. But it was the first time she'd heard it from Tifa. And after her talk with Ventus earlier, the idea of any romantic relationship seemed to be just that: a distant idea.
"Sora said he'll call me once he talks to Riku," Jasmine heard more rumbling and cheering. It sounded like there was a party going on in the apartment. "I said he could pass my number along afterwards. So we'll see what happens."
"I think it'll be good for you, Jasmine. Maybe now you can finally get some closure and figure out how to move forward whether you decide to get back together with Riku or end it for good."
Jasmine's heart practically dropped towards the backend of Tifa's statement. For some reason beyond her understanding, Jasmine felt that the latter was more likely to be the case with her and Riku.
She had no idea why that startled her so much.
"I'll call you tomorrow. Aerith wants me to come by her flower shop. I have to get fitted for my bride's maid's gown. I can't believe I'm going to be in Aerith and Zack's wedding."
Tifa laughed, her voice sounding light and angelic. "Of course you are. You know they wouldn't do it without you."
Jasmine's smile returned as she felt the warmth of Tifa's words. Even miles away, Tifa continued to have such a positive effect on her.
"Of course there is a matter of who you'd be paired with," Tifa realized.
Jasmine shivered at the idea of being paired up with someone now and laughed nervously. "We'll worry about that when I get there. Have a good night, Tifa." She pulled the phone away from her ear momentarily before bringing it back and saying, "I love you."
Tifa's smile could be almost heard through her voice. "I love you too, Jasmine. Sleep well."
Jasmine ended the call and set her phone on its charger. As soon as she did so the door to her bedroom flew open and Ventus burst in, fully dressed as if he were going out with a bottle of wine in his hand.
"And you didn't knock why?" Jasmine asked curiously, also wondering why Ventus was there in the first place.
The blonde grinned from ear to ear. "Get dressed! Now!" He commanded. "We're going out!"
"Going out? What? Where?" Jasmine was thoroughly confused.
Ventus pointed behind him with his thumb. "Yes WE are going out. I figure we could try again seeing as Tseng jacked it up the last time. We're going to eat here, pregame since you're still the only one who's under twenty one, go to a movie and then hit up one of Axel's lounges."
"Everyone is going out?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Who is everyone exactly?"
Ventus sighed dramatically and entered Jasmine's room, shoving the bottle of wine into her arms as he headed to her closet. "Me, Aqua, Terra, Prompto, Gladiolus, Axel, Ignis – which I still find strange – and even your prince."
"Oh?" Jasmine didn't bother to fight the smile pulling at her lips. "How the heck did you get Noctis to go out with us?"
He pulled open Jasmine's closet doors and gaped at the size of it. "Why do you have so much clothing? All you wear is sweats and jeans."
Jasmine rolled her eyes and set the wine bottle on her desk. "I had three homes…three closets…seriously? Why would you ask me that?"
"But," Ventus quickly returned to Jasmine's question, "You know how you guys are like joined at the hip? Wherever you go, he goes. Simple as that."
Jasmine realized that in all her time spent with Noctis she had never once seen him drink alcohol. She didn't know if he did or didn't drink but to see him in a wild environment was strangely intriguing.
"I'm in," Jasmine agreed finally. She'd been under a great amount of stress for a long, long time. And her lunch date with Riku wasn't exactly helping her calm her nerves. She needed a night out to relax with her friends. She deserved it.
"Good. Now," Ventus yanked Jasmine forward and tossed her into her own closet, causing her to fall into a rack of clothes. "Hurry up before Prompto gets too drunk! He's on his third shot and I am NOT carrying him to the car."
This wasn't Noctis' first time drinking alcohol. His father, the king of Lucis, had been known to host many extravagant parties and always kept Noctis' cup full. Plus, the law of legal drinking age was different in the Kingdom of Lucis so Noctis was very familiar with drinks.
However, this was Noctis' first time drinking with Jasmine.
Noctis sat next to Jasmine in a booth at one of Axel's nightclubs and slowly downed the contents of his second drink while watching with great interest as she took a shot with Ventus.
"You're lucky Axel knows you personally," Ventus said with a toothy grin, his cheeks blood red from all the alcohol he'd had since they started at the apartment.
Jasmine set the glass down on the table in front of her, her dark purple colored lips pulled into a mischievous smile of her own. "I have a fake ID, remember? I can get in anywhere."
Prompto, who sat across from them with a random girl on his arm, slammed down his drink and pointed to Jasmine. "Hey! Miss Valentine! You and me at the shooting range, now! We need to decide who's the best shot here!"
Jasmine laughed and pulled her hair out of her face, only for it to fall back into her eyes. She shifted in her seat and accidentally bumped shoulders with Noctis. "Hit me up when you're sober and then we can talk about this contest."
Gladiolus and Ignis laughed amongst one another. Ignis (who had also had a drink that evening) stated, "I'm sorry, friend. But even intoxicated Miss Valentine is still a better shot than you."
Prompto rolled his eyes while the rest of the group broke out into a fit of laughter. Well, all except for Noctis.
The young prince was still quite torn after his talk with Ignis on the future of their team. While Noctis knew for a fact that Ignis and the others did care about Jasmine, he was greatly troubled by the idea that Jasmine might end up being a casualty in the potential war that he would be facing soon.
"I'm not drunk," Jasmine corrected Ignis from across the booth. "But I am on a good buzz," she laughed.
Aqua, who was sitting rather close to Terra rose from her seat and held out her hand to Jasmine. "We should go dance. It's rare we all get together to celebrate."
"Good idea!" Jasmine pulled down the hem of her short navy dress and reached for Aqua's hand, following the blue-haired girl out of the V.I.P. section and down to the dancefloor below. Before Jasmine disappeared she waved to Noctis, who bashfully waved back and watched her disappear into the chaos of the nightclub.
Prompto whispered something to the girl he was with at the moment and she scurried away, promising him that she would be back. Once she was gone, Prompto sat down next to Noctis when Ventus made his way over to Terra once the two were in deep conversation.
"You're staring at her," Prompto teased, half-whispering and half-yelling over the music of the club.
Noctis quickly denied this, immediately knowing who Prompto was referring to. "No I'm not."
The blond leaned back and rubbed his chin, thoughtfully staring at the prince.
"What is it?" Noctis asked, suddenly feeling a bit awkward under Prompto's gaze. Something was definitely up and Noctis wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going.
"You two have been awfully close lately," he drawled out slowly, making sure that Ignis was out of earshot.
Noctis rolled his eyes and finished off his second drink. Or was it his third?
"You've been blowing up her phone ever since she's been back, you've been pacing around your apartment, sitting in places where she usually sits, you looked suspiciously comfortable when she came back and sat in your lap – " Prompto's list went on and on and on.
"And your point is?" Noctis' voice was harsh. He didn't want to be having this conversation right now, especially with everything else on his mind at the moment.
Prompto elbowed Noctis and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, whispering, "Now I know Ignis, Tseng and Vincent will probably kill you, but I say you go for it!"
Noctis struggled to get out of Prompto's grip. Despite the blond's size, he really was rather strong. And the alcohol in his system probably didn't hurt Prompto either. The guy always was a bit stronger with a drink or two flowing through him. "Go for what? What the hell are you talking about?"
Prompto sighed dramatically and pulled Noctis closer. "I know you're shy, Noct, but come on buddy! It's sooo obvious that you've got a crush on Miss Valentine. And I'm willing to bet that she's got a soft spot for you too…"
"I think you've had too much to drink." Noctis gently pulled away from Prompto who was still adamant about the situation.
"Don't dismiss it," Prompto argued. "I watched the way you guys interact and believe me when I say that something is there."
"She's my partner," Noctis stressed for the second time.
Prompto's smile shrank and his eyes narrowed. "Oh let's be real. The way you guys protect and watch out for each other is NOT normal. And even though you were pissed off at Ignis when he shot you, a lot of your anger came from the fact that Jasmine was gone. Let's face it, you guys have something there – can't say exactly what it is – but I think it's worth talking about in my humble opinion."
Noctis grumbled incoherently under his breath, irritation written all over his face. "I'm not opening up that discussion with her. Why? Because that would mean that we'd actually have something to discuss. She's my partner, that's all there is to it. Besides, even if I were to entertain that idea of yours nothing could ever come of it and you know it."
"At the very least," Prompto said after a long pause. He wiped his hair out of his face and cleared his throat. "You guys are friends, right? Can you at least acknowledge that?"
Noctis thought back to his conversation with Ignis. Even though he had a lot of questions to answer for himself about the nature of his and Jasmine's relationship, he had to at least put one thing out of his mind and at least pretend to put some distance between himself and Jasmine – at least until Tseng stopped questioning them. Once he knew that Tseng would back off, then Noctis could revisit the topic of his and Jasmine's special "friendship".
"Let's be clear here, Prompto, the only reason why we're all working with Jasmine is because she has something we need. Ignis has made that known and he's right. What happens after we go back to Lucis? Do we take her with us? Hell no. You know what will happen when all of this ends. We go our separate ways and that's it. It's just business."
Prompto froze instantly and his jaw dropped to the floor. He leaned back and stared long and hard at Noctis, causing his friend to tense up immediately.
"You don't mean that," Prompto concluded. "You're lying."
"Its business," Noctis pushed further. "Talk to Ignis if you don't believe me." He added, "And we're not the only ones here benefitting from Jasmine's skills and presence. Believe me on that."
Prompto's eyes hardened, his eyes almost narrowing into slits. "We may have been "strictly business partners" at first but you and I both know that everyone here – including you – cares about Miss Valentine. I know when you're lying, Noct. You've never been good at it.
"Look, I don't have all the answers here either but I do know this: we're all apart of each other's lives. You've gone out of your way to protect Miss Valentine and she'd do the same for you. She even mentioned to me that she'd be willing to stay in SOLDIER longer if it meant helping our kingdom. YOUR kingdom! At the very least, Noctis, she's our friend. And even if we aren't from the same country it doesn't mean we have to treat her like she's disposable."
Ignis' vague warning flashed through Noctis' mind and for a moment, just one moment, he let his mask slip. "And what if she gets hurt or killed fighting our war? She doesn't deserve that. She deserves to be happy and the chance to live out the rest of her life in peace."
Prompto sat and stared at Noctis for a long, long time. The blond appeared to be trying to gather and collect his thoughts on what to say on the matter but he didn't know where to begin. With a heavy sigh, Prompto placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"Look Noctis, I know we have a lot on our plates right now. And I know that things have been quite difficult with the king losing control of Lucis so I understand how frustrated you are right now. But you cannot forget that we are all here for you. That includes, Miss Valentine. Let's think about it, she's saved all of us once before and you know for a fact that she is committed to not only helping herself, but us as well, and that's something you don't see every day.
"Now, I know you're shy and – let's be real – you aren't the best at communicating. But you need to take some time and think about what you really want to do about Miss Valentine. I'm really kidding when I poke fun at you two however, you do have to have a serious heart to heart with her on the future. If you're worried about her safety, I completely understand but she can take care of herself. You know that.
"Hopefully, in a few months, we'll be leaving for Lucis to reclaim the kingdom so you've got to figure out whether you want her to accompany us or not. It's your call but you should talk to her about what's really going on."
Prompto exhaled before he rose slowly out of his seat. He slipped his hands into his pockets and started off on his own but not before he turned back to add, "And for all it's worth, I think we need her help. You need her."
Once Prompto was gone and disappeared down the stairs he leaned back, placing a hand on his forehead while sighing.
'I didn't sign up for this,' he thought miserably, dreading the conversation that needed to be had.
Jasmine stood in the shower and scrubbed away the remainder of her eye-makeup, her eyes red from not only the scrubbing she had to do to remove it but from the tearing up she had done in the bathroom at the club.
Noctis must have been slightly intoxicated that evening. Usually he was ultra aware of his surrounds and attentive of all that went on around him and the others. But he seemed completely unaware of the fact that Jasmine was standing right behind him and Prompto, overhearing a small portion of their conversation… the truly damaging part of it.
"Let's be clear here, Prompto, the only reason why we're all working with Jasmine is because she has something we need."
Once Jasmine was sure she had finished cleaning her face she began washing her long hair, carefully running shampoo all through her thick ebony locks in an attempt to distract her from her troubled thoughts.
"Its business. Talk to Ignis if you don't believe me. And we're not the only ones here benefitting from Jasmine's skills and presence. Believe me on that."
The faces of all the people she had met through SOLDIER flashed through her mind. While most of the people she had encountered weren't the most pleasant people to be around, Jasmine thought she had found a home with Noctis and Ventus' groups. But hearing that she was simply being used for what she could do for others…well, it broke her heart.
Jasmine's movements slowed and the world around her began to get lost when she travelled deeper and deeper into her mind. The young girl slowly slipped to the floor of her enormous shower floor and sat there with her knees pulled tightly to her chest as if curling herself into a ball could protect her from the outside world.
Noctis was so cold and definite in the manner in which he spoke. It was so harsh and severe that Jasmine couldn't try and rationalize the situation any other way.
Not so long ago Jasmine had opened a bit of herself up to Noctis and told him that she cared for him. And it was true. Jasmine tried to play it down that day – mostly because she didn't want to make things potentially awkward for Noctis – but the truth was that she really did care for Noctis and the others dearly. Especially Noctis.
'He really doesn't give a shit about me,' Jasmine thought, a pain she hadn't expected almost crippling her on the spot. 'I know we're working together and otherwise we would have never lived together. But I…'
Unashamedly, Jasmine allowed herself to cry right then and there. No one would hear her anyway. Jasmine's bedroom was soundproof and her bathroom sat at the far end of the room. She could be to herself without having to worry about being disturbed.
Fortunately, Jasmine was able to keep up appearances for her party. The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene and leave herself and her emotions out in the open for everyone to see: especially for people who were supposedly only using her.
Jasmine stared at her closed fists, recalling the day when she came back to her apartment and ran to Noctis' arms. She swore loudly and banged a fist against the tile floor. There was no denying that Jasmine had completely let herself go for Noctis in that moment, crying tears of joy at having been reunited with one of the people she missed the most when she was with Vanitas. That moment was not a front or an exaggeration. The tears she cried were real and true and the comfort she felt at having been in Noctis' arms was something that even Jasmine couldn't erase from her mind.
And then in an instant, Jasmine was painfully reminded that she was going to meet with Riku soon. For what reason this happened so drastically, Jasmine was unsure. However, she had learned over time that when she slipped into her "lower" moments, all the things that she tried to hide from herself and others came to the surface in full swing, driving her further into her sorrow.
Her tears turned into almost violent sobs and panic set in.
Riku had easily moved onto another girl. Jasmine knew the two of them separated and that they were single but she hadn't expected to be replaced so fast when not long ago Riku was willing to marry her. And the hateful things he said to her…
Jasmine was so torn. She knew she left him shortly after the proposal but everyone seemed to know the reason why she did so. It was sort of an unspoken understanding after everything with Vanitas. Did he really believe back then that she never loved him?
All these things that Jasmine tried to downplay during the moments that they occurred were finally reaching the surface, threatening to tear her in two.
While Jasmine had accepted the fact that her life would never return to what it once was and that the scars she had would never disappear, it still didn't take away the pain. Everyone had moved on with their lives as they should. Perhaps it was time that she do the same.
Perhaps it was time that she do so on her own.
'Far away,' Jasmine pondered as she began to run out of tears. 'Somewhere far away from here.'
It could be very easy. Jasmine could still keep her position in SOLDIER and be transferred to any single one of the islands out there. She could disappear and start a new life. Hell, if she wanted, she could stay on one of the islands she visited on her first tour.
She could vanish. Start a new life where no one knew of her. She was always good at blending in. It wouldn't be that difficult.
But then Jasmine realized two, terrible, damning facts about this escape she had in mind.
One: even if she should move away, that would mean that she would be even further away from Tifa, Cloud and the others who truly did care about her.
And the second (and most painful) realization: even if she left and never returned, the scars would always be there and so would the memories.
'I'm only eighteen,' Jasmine lamented, feeling utterly and thoroughly lost. 'Why does it feel like my life is already ending?'
Author's Note: I promised myself that this chapter would be shorter than the last one but…yeah I'm sorry about that haha. It just seems like the closer it gets to the end the more I have to say. Anyway, onto the responses.
hopefuldreamer1991: You guys will find out the FULL conversation some time later. I'm trying to tie that conversation in with another super important one. Noctis is complicated. Once I start rolling out more of his past I'm sure his behavior will make more sense – or at least somewhat more understandable. Not everything with him (his motives and intentions) is as they seem.
Sarah K.R: Noctis and Jasmine…they are definitely an interesting pair. And yup! Three long years. Ugh to be honest I'm upset that it took me so long but you know what? That's life. And yes Riku and Jasmine will see each other very, very soon.
Guest: Yes you will!
LongTimeReader: Indeed, my friend. Three. Long. Exhausting. Years.
meyoume: Yes. There will be way more group involvement now that everyone will be on Radiant Garden. However there will also be way more "worlds" locations in the next story.
Roxas4Ever: Yeah. Right now Jasmine is trying to move past a few things. But you never know with her unfortunately if she's really moved forward or suppressing everything. A meeting with Vanitas and Riku are actually not that far off actually so you'll see how those interactions go.
NoLumostheSun: You will, that much I can promise you!
Lola: Noctis is…well, their friendship is super complicated. Also Roxas is going to make an appearance soon as well. To be quite honest with you I sincerely believe that Jasmine and Roxas could have worked out. I swear it's just the timing.
Guest: Yes you will but in parts from now until the end of the story.
GUEST: Glad you like it!
PinkDinosaur: Haha I can't answer all your questions now but they will be answered. I promise!
Platform934: Lol Jasmine knows what to do (in the immediate sense) but when she comes down off her "escape high" she'll have to think about what to do about her future. I'll go over more of that with her in future chapters.
Skeleus: Indeed. I have way more feels planned for everyone.
StudentofLight: I can't promise anything right now (because ending this story has become almost insanely difficult) but I am trying to finish this story up within the next few weeks. Thank you for the support and lovely compliment!
Sookdeo: *cracks knuckles* Let's do this. So Noctis is the heir to his throne, Ignis is the advisor to Noctis' family. Jasmine wasn't exactly happy at first about Ignis' plan (as it was discussed SUPER early in the story – but never shown) but when she thought that it would help Noctis, who had been there for her in difficult situations, she finally agreed to do it. In essence, it was Ignis who was using Jasmine. I think that once the side story comes out we'll all be able to see just how involved everyone was with one another. Hmm Jasmine faking her death would be an interesting plot twist. Once I do manage to reveal Jasmine's history (as well as Vanitas') everything will make a lot more sense and you will understand the other characters a lot more. Noctis' father is a bit hard-fashioned but with the way his kingdom is set up it's almost a bit of a contradiction. However, let it be known now that Noctis is extremely rebellious (that should give you a hint as to what you might expect from him). I'll talk about his mother too. Shoot I almost need a side story after this one and before the final story to really get into Noctis' situation. As for Jasmine's future, only time will tell I suppose.
So yes that's it everyone! Thanks again for all the support and I'll keep working on the next few chapters. We're almost done guys! Let me know what you think and I'll see you all next time.
