The Secret Garden

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 my friends for allowing me to borrow your characters. If you wish to appear, please send me a message and we can work something out.

Notes: This is the sequel to Records of Keeper Canti. It's wibby-wobbly, timey-whimy in its execution. I care not. If you care, shut the fuck up and go away. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Warnings: Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar

FIC START!

Chapter Ten

Repetition

Second day of school went a lot more smoothly than the first. There was no Initiation to worry about, and everyone seemed to know where they were going. Canti found Combat Basics to be a great workout for the beginning of the day, once she got the hang of it. Thrust, parry. Thrust, parry. She put all of her effort into it, and it made her sweat from every pore of her tiny body. The task was to work at it until the motions felt natural. Every morning for the first few weeks, it would start with this. Shivan made that clear. Hundreds of reps, over and over again, until it became clockwork. Have the body memorize every single aspect. The weight of the weapon in her hands, the muscles that it made sore. Those would be the ones that they would spend the wind down time honing before being dismissed to the next class. It was a finely oiled machine, this process. It had trained thousands of other fighters who lived all through the country. Dagurreo Garden Academy, was, first and foremost, a training facility for defenders of the land. Headmaster Leviathan said as much in the morning announcements.

"Are you holding up all right?" Crystal asked once Canti let her tired muscles relax enough to fall flat on the grass below. She stood over her friend, gazing down at her. Crystal seemed much more able to hold her hammer, like her hands were simply able to hold more weight.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Canti said, using a cloth to wipe away the sweat from her forehead. "I'm… just, kinda worn out, is all."

"Never thought trying to lift my grandpa's work hammer would have helped so much," Crystal said, going back to her reps. "Man! I got this! Easy peasy!"

Hikari suddenly appeared at Canti's side with a cup of water. "Here!"

Canti took it. "How'd… wait, weren't you just training over there?"

"Saw you flop over, so…" Hikari shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm pretty fast. Figured you might need some help." Even though her sword movements were unsteady at first from being untrained, there was no denying how fast she moved.

"You certainly are," Canti agreed. Once she finished her water, she picked her spear back up and went back at it. Even though she was worn out, seeing her friends keep going made her want to keep at it, too. She just hoped that none of her classes were as taxing as this today. She let out her own sounds of aggression during her practice thrusts, but they were lost in the crowd of all the first years practicing their attacks. Hundreds of kids, all with weapons of all kinds, were doing nothing but attacking the air. Learning, memorizing, until their weapons became second nature, an actual part of themselves.

After a solid hour of constant sweaty workout, the bell signaling the end of the first class rang. Luckily, there was a twenty minute break time, which gave every sweaty student the chance to shower before heading off to the next one. Canti stood in the warm water, just letting her body relax in it.

"Caaaaaaaaaaaanti."

"...what?"

"Are you ready for Maaaaaagical Maaaaaastery?"

She turned to look at Hikari. "Your attempt to cheer me up is more annoying than funny. Please stop stretching your 'A' sounds out like that." Canti decided now was the best time to get out of the shower, dressing rather quickly.

Crystal walked out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. "I hope that's not a status effect I have to cure with a hammer to your head, there, Hikari." She turned away to dress.

"I thought you two would find it funny." Hikari sounded disappointed.

"You wanna know something actually funny?" Crystal asked. "My grandpa told me that about thirty years ago, someone took a whole bunch of maple syrup and covered the Garden in it just to turn the place into a gigantic slip-n-slide."

"...you're kidding," Hikari said, bursting out into laughter.

Canti fixed her skirt. "Wait. Must have been a dummy, because you can't slide on syrup. It's sticky."

"...yeah. Grandpa said that's why the guy was caught! He got stuck to Headmaster Leviathan's door while sliding around!"

There was a moment of silence between them before they all busted out laughing.

Shivan walked through at that exact moment. "Oh dear. It sounds like people are still talking about that event…" she said, chuckling herself. "…poor Bismark will never live that one down."

"Wait? It was Bismark?" Canti asked curiously. "The same Bismark that was missing yesterday? The one in charge of teaching Mysidian?"

"Yes. Instructor Bismark was quite the silly one in his youth, and he's still kind of silly now," Shivan answered. "Though if I'm right, Bahamun and Ifreet put him up to it on a dare… I'm pretty sure he never would have thought to raid the cafeteria for syrup on his own." She turned to look at the girls. "You three are the last ones in here. I suggest you get a move on."

"Right! Sorry about that!" Canti said, hurrying to put her uniform on.

Hikari and Canti had the class Magical Mastery together, though they were seated very far apart. This was due to the Instructor Ifreet's ability to sense budding friendships and force friends who would talk to each other to be on opposite sides of the room to prevent distraction. As they had spent the first day going over the various kinds of magic, from the healing holy White, to the destructive Black, to the incredibly hard to master monster-skill Blue, and the status changing Green; the first real class session was all about learning the first spell in the school of magic of their choice. After all, every one had been tested, and if there was no magical potential within, they would not have been here. That's why Crystal was in some other class while Hikari and Canti were in this one without her.

"Wait! Instructor Ifreet!" one girl said from her seat. "If we choose Blue Magic, how are we going to learn our first spell without a monster around?"

"Ah. Well, that's a perfectly good question, Quistis. If you blue mage apprentices will go with my moogle to the room full of monsters through this door, you will all be trying to learn the spell Magic Hammer today," Ifreet said, pointing at the door right next to his blackboard. "Bring your weapons. As for the rest of you… get out your textbooks. White mages will transcribe the spell Cure, Black Mages will transcribe the spell Fire, and Green Mages will transcribe the spell Haste. I want them all copied neatly ten times and on my desk before the class bell rings."

The blue mages filed out as they were told, while the rest of the apprentice magicians got to doing their paperwork. Canti wasn't sure if she was glad to have chosen White Magic for study, as it sounded pretty scary to fight a monster and learn a spell from it. Based on what she read, blue mages either had to be hit by a spell or see a spell hit someone else before they could learn it - she wasn't really sure which it was. Instead, she took out a quill and inkpot and began to copy the symbols in her textbook onto the paper for Cure. It was the simplest of white magic spells. Why did it seem so overly complicated?

"Cure, and all white magic spells, come from the spirit… Without a strong spirit, the light of cure cannot take effect," she read from the book. She wondered where she had heard that before, because the words were eerily similar to something she had heard before. Canti gave it some good thought. What did it mean to have a strong spirit? Did she have a strong spirit? How did one get a strong spirit in the first place? She was careful in how she wrote each symbol on the paper, trying to concentrate on just that one simple task. While her body was exhausted from the workout in Combat Basics, she felt her mind being drained while writing the transcription for Cure somehow. Did it take actual magic power to write these, but she just simply didn't know it?

The room was silent except for the shuffling of papers, turning of pages and pushing of quills. A few kids let out a groan in frustration after writing out a few spell transcriptions. One even fainted, which caused the Instructor to simply have him laid flat nearby to rest, and then scold other students for staring.

"We all have different mental capacities. The more we work our minds, the stronger we will grow. He may not have much power now, but given time, it will come to him," Ifreet said, tapping desks to call each of the students back to their work. "And, yes… that feeling in you as you write the symbols is working the flow of energies in your mind. You must have been wondering what that sensation was… right now, we are building our mental power. As of now, you may not even have the ability to cast magic. This young fellow here does not."

Canti kept writing her symbols. It seemed as if all she was doing was building up her abilities, slowly, like grinding sandpaper against a rough piece of pottery to smooth it out. First thing in the morning, everyone used their weaponry over and over again. And here, working with the papers, the symbols, all was prepping her mind and helping her grow in magical power. She finished the tenth page within an hour, and some students hadn't finished half of their assignment. But, boy, did her mind feel dizzy. She wanted to get up and turn in her work, as she was instructed, but as she stood up, she hobbled back over into her chair.

"Miss Highwind," Ifreet called to her. "You may want to rest a bit before you try to move. While your potential has been noted to me, you still have no training as of now. Sit down and wait a little while before you come to turn it in."

"...yes, but, I… you told us to turn it in…" she answered, putting her hands to her head. "I just wanted to… complete the assignment, sir."

"Part of completing the assignment is realizing your mental state," Ifreet said. "This will happen as you all continue to exercise your minds at this. Slowly we will build up your mental strength before we even get to spellcasting."

Another kid groaned. "You mean we can't cast spells until we've done all this?!"

"That's exactly right," Ifreet said with a nod. "Magic takes preparation. Extensive preparation. All you do can be blown right off course if you aren't careful enough, and it's possible to erase your entire mind if you try to cast a spell and not have the proper mental power to contain it. It could cost you your life. Magic in and of itself is dangerous."

Canti took a very deep breath as she considered all of this information. Why would anyone want to use magic if it could cost them their mind? Or even their life? Was all this work worth it to fester all these powers? Some people lived in homes very magic friendly, and they had known its wonders, but Canti lived with Papa Cid. He was a machinist and dragoon, relying on science and technology for all he did both in home life and in work. She wasn't sure what to make of the concept of magic, really. Sure, she tested and the potential was detected, but did she really want to do it? Did she even have a choice?

After a good twenty more minutes, Canti was able to stand up and carry her spell transcription paperwork to the instructor's desk. Very few other students were able to do this, and she wasn't sure what to make of that fact. He told her to gather her things to go, and that she was free to head to lunch early if she wished, as there was no other assignment for this class. There was only about fifteen minutes left in class, and it honestly seemed like most would not be able to complete the task before lunch began.

She did as she was told, wandering over to the same place where she had lunch the day before and pulling out her lunchbox. Dragon meat pizza, leftover from the night before. Even if it was cold, she didn't mind. It was better than dealing with all the nonsense of waiting in line. Canti pulled it up to her mouth and was ready to chow down, when the same voice that interrupted her yesterday crept into her ears unexpectedly.

"Why, it seems you have come here again."

"Mateus?" Canti asked. "Do you just… like to hang out in this one place, or something?"

"I like this tree," Mateus answered, pressing against it. After a few shakes, a few pieces of fruit fell from it. One landed in Canti's lap. A peach. "It's a magical tree. If you shake it, it'll give you your favorite fruit."

Canti cocked up an eyebrow. "It won't give me mine."

"And why not?" Mateus picked up a peach and dusted it off on his uniform.

"My favorite fruit doesn't grow on a tree," she said. "Cantaloupe does not grow on a tree."

Mateus frowned. "Well that's…" he seemed a tad disappointed. "…and here I thought I'd have a way to impress you with this tree."

"Mateus…" Canti took a bite of her pizza. "…Papa Cid said I should stay away from you."

"...that's disheartening to hear."

"Because your family is trouble, he said."

Mateus shook his head. "I have nothing to do with the transgressions of my father, just as you have nothing to do with what your father does at work. How can you judge me for what my father does, when I do not judge you for what your father does?"

Canti took another bite. "My Papa is a mechanic and retired pilot."

"And that is honest and good work, beneficial for all of our community, but it has nothing to do with you yourself," Mateus said, crossing his arms. "You are your own person, Cantirena Highwind. You should be judged on your merits, and your merits alone."

"Get away from my cousin!" A lance came down from the sky, with Kain directing it. He landed only a few inches from Mateus as a warning, and he could have easily run his spear through the upperclassman if he so wanted. "My father told me all about your schemes to brainwash her!"

"...what?" both Mateus and Canti asked at the same time.

"Kain, you have your spear too far up your delicious tush to realize I am only trying to befriend your cousin," Mateus said kindly. "She and I share a class together in the afternoon, and I would dare not hurt her. Canti is a sweet girl."

Kain put his arms out and stood in front of Canti. "You won't dare come near her. Not now, not ever. You… pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert, Kain…" Mateus said, shaking his head.

"Summer camp last year says otherwise! You aren't gonna hurt her… not like you did me…"

The black mage only walked on. "I'll see you in Chorus, Canti. Have a good rest of your day, Kain." As he continued, he only groaned. "…Highwinds… why is the girl with the most magic potential in our school a damn Highwind?"

Kain immediately turned to his cousin. "He didn't hurt you, did he? He didn't… Cosmos forbid… touch you, did he?!"

Canti was only confused. "He didn't even put a finger on me. He seems like he just wants a friend. I get he feeling that he's really lonely, Kain."

"That guy isn't in the market to make friends," Kain said, sitting next to her. "He wants people to use, to further his own position. That's what he does. That's what that whole family does!"

"Maybe he's different?" she suggested. "He did say that just because Papa Cid is a mechanic that it doesn't have any bearing on me, and that I should be judged just on my own merits… and he's right about that. I'm not a mechanic. I don't do that work just because he does."

"That's different, cousin."

"I think he is different. We should give him a chance."

"No way! I know Mateus in a way you don't! You can't trust him! He will only hurt you, why don't you see that?"

Canti looked on. Was there something she could do for Mateus?