Rebirth of a Holy Dragoon

Disclaimer: I don't own shit except this AU's world and Canti herself.

Notes: Yes, this is a part of my main canon with other FFRK stories. In "Our Keeper's Keeper", Cid saw this world in his nightmares. It'll all be linked together eventually. Muhuhahaha.

Warnings: All the same warnings apply~

FIC START!

Chapter Sixty-one

Cid and Kain walked through the part of town between the Highwind Manor and the hospital briskly. Kain wondered why they weren't jumping, as that would have significantly cut the time to make it back home, but he also didn't even want to try to make that jump. He didn't feel the flow of the wind at the base of his feet as usual. He hadn't since he woke up in that hospital bed. He couldn't help but worry about Canti's condition. This area of town wasn't unfamiliar. They both knew all the houses they passed, from the tiny trailers to the huge mansions. Eventually, they came to the gate of the Highwind Manor.

Cid pressed the button on the gate. "Lemme in."

The voice on the other side of the speaker let out an audible groan. "Really, Cid? You can't at least sound like you're the inheritor of one of the most palacial estates in all of Dagurreo?" The gate swung open. "Whatever. Guess we just have to get used to the fact that you just refuse to be impressed."

"I grew up here," Cid rolled his eyes. "Nothin' impressive about this."

When they arrived at the front door, it burst open and there stood Hikari and Crystal with their arms out. "Welcome home!" they chimed together.

"Thanks, girls..." Cid grumbled, walking past them.

"I think your celebration is a tad short," Kain said quietly, following Cid into the main foyer of the manor.

"Wait a minute," Hikari said, putting her hands on her hips. "Exactly where is your cousin? We spent a while and all our combined gil to buy snacks for this-" she pointed at the huge spread of snacks on the long table behind her. "That you guys are all good and healthy and back home! What gives?!"

Kain just shook his head. "Uncle Cid, I'm going up to set up her room now."

"Do you need any help?"

"I just. Want to be left alone right now," he replied, heading upstairs without even speaking to either of Canti's friends.

"I'm so confused," Crystal said as she looked over at Cid.

"Canti's injuries were a... tad more serious," Cid explained. "She'll be staying a bit longer. I'm sorry you went to all this, but we have no idea when she'll be coming home."

"Oh. Oh okay, that's fine then," Hikari said, frowning. She then snatched Crystal's hair and dragged her to another room to keep her out of earshot from anyone within the manor's staff. "...that is certainly not fine..."

"I don't know what you think we're going to be able to do about it," Crystal whispered.

"We're not, but at least we should go bring her some of this cake to cheer her up at the hospital, right?" Hikari asked. "I mean, it isn't as good as that huge piece of work Mateus got for her, but it still counts for something."

"Yeah, but. She might be an the Intensive Care or something if her injuries were too bad," Crystal replied. "We don't know where that even is."

"We don't, but there is someone we know who does."

"Minwu!"

"Right. Let's go bother him and see if he'll tell us where we can find her."

"He's not likely to do it. Minwu is hospital staff. We don't know how serious it is, and clearly no one's going to talk about it."

"I'm not giving up. I'm going to see her!" Hikari declared.

"You probably shouldn't do that," Kain's voice said behind them. He was digging through his mother's linen closet, pulling out bedsheets and pillowcases. "Trying to sneak in there will only land you two in trouble, and Canti will feel bad about it when she hears you got in trouble over trying to see her. So just don't."

"She's your girlfriend," Hikari said, "You should want to see her, too."

"And your cousin, so, y'know. Family." Crystal tried to follow up, but she just felt like she tripped over her words instead of making any sort of impact with them.

Kain sighed. "She and I aren't dating... Right now is the worst time to talk about any of this. Honestly I really don't know why you're here."

"You don't get it!" Hikari growled. "We watched on the Sphere what happened before, y'know. Your father was taken by the Senator and... all that. We watched it on the Sphere. And then it was announced that the two of you were missing, we feared the worst had happened to you! We thought we'd never see you again, and... I don't want to go through that again."

"Again?" Crystal asked.

"What? Did I say again?" Hikari asked, shaking her head. "Don't mind me... Oh, wait, yes! Mind me!" She walked up to Kain and stared him straight in the eyes. "You're worried like crazy. That's why you're nesting."

"Nesting?" Kain asked.

"You're doing housework to make it better because you have no idea what else to do. You're nesting."

"When my cousin comes home, she has to have a place to sleep. I'm preparing her a room."

"Yeah, you're nesting," Hikari insisted. "Though I thought that only happened in pregnant women."

"But sometimes, the man can have sympathy pains and feelings from the woman that's pregnant," Crystal added. "Kain, did you and Canti="

"What kind of a crazy idea is that?" Kain asked in a panic, blushing like crazy. Not that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, he was after all, a fifteen year old young man who had all ready begun experiencing the bloom of puberty. The call to create children has indeed resounded in his mind a few times but he didn't feel like talking about it. "Of course not. We're far too young to engage in that sort of behavior. Now please stop being silly. I know you wanna see Canti, but truth is, she's probably not awake. Uncle Cid said the injury is with her eyes. They're keeping her asleep while they figure out what to do."

Hikari sighed. "Oh all right, fine. We'll drop it. But just so you know, Kain."

"What."

"Age of concent here IS fifteen. We're not too young anymore."

"How could you be thinking about that?!"

"How could you not? You've actually got a girlfriend!"

"I'm not dating her."

"Yet."

"Bahamut damn it..."

Mateus Palamecia sat at a table, one hand cuffed to it, staring at three officers that were all staring at him. He lost count of how long he'd been in there, but every passing minute, he wanted to set the whole place on fire. That troubled him. He'd always thought of himself as a very classy young man, but as time had continued and he grew older, he couldn't help but think of violence against all those who stood in his way for any amount of time. He couldn't help himself, imagining the crackle of burning flesh. The smell permiating the entire place. That was fitting for those who dare stand against him, he thought. To become a part of a rotten stench no one could be rid of.

"We just want to know," one of the officers repeated. "What use would your father have for one of your classmates?"

"You think my father and I ever had a conversation that wasn't just to put on camera to appease voters?" Mateus asked. "He never told me he had an interest in my classmates, let alone their value amongst our society. The man kept secrets of all kinds."

"Was he... y'know, interested in younger girls?"

Mateus shook his head. "What kind of an accusation is that?"

"We've found things, penned in your father's handwriting, at his desk in the senate, regarding kidnapping the Highwind girl," the other officer said. "So we know he has a vested interest in her. We just don't understand what it is he wanted her for."

"You want me to incriminate my own father!"

"You don't want to work out a deal?"

"What kind of deal do you think you could offer me that would make me want to incriminate my own father?!"

"None, probably, but we could offer to let you walk out right now and not question you further about it."

"...go to hell."

"You wanna sit there for the rest of the afternoon? Be our guest."

"Fuck you. I have no idea what my father was planning, but even if I did, I'd refuse to tell you twits about it."

"Suit yourself."

Yep, Mateus thought. How lovely it would be to burn it all to the ground. He couldn't wait to get a wiff of that man on fire. He smiled, leaning back into that incredibly uncomfortable chair.

Balthier had a sketchpad in his hand, drawing up something quickly before he passed the clipboard over to Minwu. "Something like what my father's been wearing here lately. Reconstructive glasses," he said, shrugging. "So while she's up and wearing them, they slowly work on restoring her sight to what it used to be."

"No, I think this idea is fantastic," Minwu said, gazing over the blueprints that was just handed to him. "But what's it made of? Normal glass couldn't achieve this="

"That's the thing. For these to work, we'd need something that we might not be able to get our hands on immediately," Balthier said. "Wind Crystal shards."

Minwu shoved the clipboard back into Balthier's hands. "And how the hell are you thinking you're going to get something like that?"

"Considering this is being developed for a Highwind, I figure I might just stroll right up to the front door and ask nicely," Balthier said, smiling. "Though I might need someone to go with me, otherwise there'd be a pretty tense layer of distrust to worry about."

"Actually... I have a better idea," Minwu said, turning to the Sphere terminal in front of him and dialing in a specfic address. "If you're there, Headmaster, there's something I'd like to propose to you regarding everyone's favorite dragoon in training."

Kain ran the broom through the room carefully, lost in thought while he did. Every stroke of the broom, he could hear his cousin laughing. On the other side of the room, he could see her standing in front of the huge wardrobe and pulling out pieces of her Garden uniform. She made a total mess of the room, but it was only as messy as her signature curly hair that never seemed to be able to be tamed. She hung up her moogle-head shaped purse on one of the banisters of the bed, and her messenger bag on the doorknob. The wardrobe had a drawer meant to contain fifty pairs of shoes, but it only contained a solid good three. Oh, how he missed her terribly and wished she'd come home as soon as possible. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen at that hospital. Perhaps those two girls had the right idea of going to visit her? They may have been incredibly silly about it, but their hearts were in the right place. Last time considering them too silly cost them all something dear. Perhaps he should have listened more to their prattle. He pushed the broom a few more times, and he really couldn't get the thought out of his head.

There was a knock on the door. "You holdin' up okay, kid?"

Kain turned around to give his uncle a frown.

"Lemme guess, you're bored with these chores?"

"Not really, Uncle Cid. Chores don't bother me at all. I just really miss Canti," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I've not been here a whole day without her and I can't get her out of my head! What's wrong with me?!"

"Sounds to me like you're sick, too."

"Sick?!"

"...lovesick, my boy," Cid said, laughing gently. "Nothin's going to take that feeling out of your heart until you see the one you miss more than anything again... kinda reminds me of my younger days, ha."

"Your... younger days?"

Cid nodded. "I was once in love with a top of the line mechanic that worked on my airship, back before I retired. She was hella talented. Always set out to correct my dumbass mistakes. I loved that woman more than I've ever loved anyone until I adopted Canti."

"What happened to the mechanic?"

"I ain't so sure about that. I wanna say she decided just to break it off, but we were getting serious before she disappeared," Cid said, shrugging. "I honestly don't know what happened to Shera... but I would have loved to make an honest woman out of her. No question, she would have made a good mama and a damn good wife."

Kain laughed out loud. "Sure is hard for me to imagine you married."

"You shut your mouth, damn kid!"

"Well, you put so much into your relationship with Canti, I really think you being married would take away from it. There's gotta be a reason why you aren't with that mechanic. Maybe she just didn't want children?"

Cid got contemplative for a moment, but he really didn't want to concentrate on it. "It's not important now," he said. "So, you think she'll like it in here?"

"I get the feeling she'll overreact and just say things like 'but but this might be too fancy for me'," Kain thought aloud.

"You're probably right!" Cid laughed. "I sent her little friends on home... no idea if they're actually gonna go home or not."

"Those two? You might want to keep an eye on them," Kain said. "Don't expect them to go home right away."