Project:RE

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Notes:

Warnings: They haven't changed.

Chapter Sixty-Nine

FIC START!

When Canti woke up, she found herself wrapped in blankets she didn't remember wrapping herself in before she passed out. She looked around, noting that the spot where Kain was sleeping was vacant. She didn't have to think much about what happened, though she did worry a tad over the letter she received last night. She nuzzled herself against that pillow, trying to get comfortable. Was there a reason to bother getting out of bed yet? Not that she could think of. It was going to be one of those quiet days where nothing happened and everything was at peace.

Kain knocked gently on the door before sticking his head in. "You can play possom all you like, but I can tell you're awake."

"Well I suppose there's no more reason in just laying here, then," she said, sitting up. She looked at his face, with those beautiful eyes seemingly frought with worry. "Uh oh... hey. Kain. What's wrong?"

"What?" Kain asked, shaking his head.

"Were you thinking about... Uncle Richard again?"

"No."

"Liar."

"Actually, no, I wasn't thinking about them," Kain answered, his quiet tone of voice befitting his honesty. "Forgive me, I'd just found this note, and I was afraid that..."

"Note?" Canti asked, immediately thinking to Mateus' letter.

"Uncle Cid is many things, but if there's ever a reason to leave, he is never the type to just write a note," he answered, holding up a paper folded up like some sort of business memo. "He would have told you if he needed to go somewhere, at the very least. Knowing that you're the type to worry."

"Wait," she said, pulling the blankets off of her and getting up off the bed. "Papa Cid isn't here?" Canti snatched the letter from him, unfolding it so fast that it almost ripped. As she read through it, a heavy weight rested on her shoulders. She shook her head and handed it back to him. "That's not how he does things, that's not how he EVER does things! Besides... Papa Cid has messy, almost unreadable handwriting. It might be messy to the common eye, but this is far too neat for his... chicken scratch. If you can even call it that."

"Maybe he took the time to rewrite it, to make sure we could read it?" Kain suggested. "I mean, we have to be able to read it, if it's going to be a farewell note."

"I've always been able to read his handwriting," Canti said. "I might be the only one who can. It's that bad."

"Then this note is not intended for you."

"Must not be." She frowned. "So that means Papa Cid needs to take care of official government bullshit, and we're just left here not knowing what to do. I honestly would rather have gone with him."

"The note says he's going somewhere dangerous."

"We've survived pretty extreme danger before, Kain."

"Oh no, we're not going down this path again!" Kain said, crossing his arms. "The last time I let you talk me into taking us both into danger, we nearly died! We have to stay right here, in the manor, and wait for Uncle Cid to get back. We can't go chasing after him."

"Why not?"

"We chased after my father, and look what happened. The last thing I need is for you to end up comatose in the hospital again because I'm unable to protect you."

"What if someone that was working with the Senator livestreams my father's death on the Sphere, just like they did yours?!" Canti shouted. "Uncle Richard went on a mission for the benefit of the family, was trapped, and massacred. Live. You can't think that this isn't some other trap... someone is out to destroy our family, one by one. I'm not about to let that happen, Kain."

"I'm sorry, Canti. I'm - I'm really sorry, but... I'm your guardian," Kain answered quietly. "I... I don't want to lose you."

"And I don't want to lose my Papa!"

"You think I wanted to lose my father? You may have a friendlier relationship with Cid than I did with my father, but I loved and respected that man, regardless of how strict he was. He was strict for a reason, because we need structure to function," Kain said, feeling tears burn his eyes. "How could you insinuate that I would ever... want... him to die?"

"Then you should understand why we should go find him."

"I get it, but at the same time, it puts you at risk, and that's the last thing I want." He reached to caress her cheek with his hand. "I can't handle you being hurt again-"

Canti said it much more forcefully this time. "Listen, I want to go find Papa Cid. He raised me, took me in when no one else would. At least I can stick by him if there's trouble..."

"Canti, I understand why you feel the way you do," Kain reassured her. "But. I refuse to let you go."

"Am I seriously going to have to kick your ass to get past you or something?"

"No. I will not fight you," he answered, shaking his head gently.

"Then how will you stop me from going?!"

He stepped closer to her, and she stood still. When he came yet another step closer, she just stared up at him, her will unwavering. "I may not be able to stop you," he said, "unless I do something drastic."

"You are the type to do anything drastic, Kain. That's not in your nature," she replied, trying to step to the side to walk around him. He refused to let her pass. "I'm losing the chance to catch up to him, you know. So if you're going to do anything, you had best do it-"

He suddenly put both his hands to her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. At first she tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her go. The moment she stopped struggling to get away from him and accept that she wanted this just as much as he did, his arms went around her to pull her body that much closer to his. Her hands went up around his neck, nestling into his long blonde hair, and their tongues intertwined for the first time. One kiss after another, they came as if they were hungry for each other more than they could be for any kind of food. After a while, they pulled apart, and stared at each other in disbelief that it even happened.

"I don't care how taboo it is," he whispered. "I love you."

"...as much as I liked that, it didn't stop me from wanting to find Papa Cid. I hope that wasn't your only way of stopping me."

"I - I thought it would show you just how much I care for you, and how much you mean to me. I... I did not consider it a deterrent."

"I get that all ready, even without having that... mutual experience," Canti said, putting her hands on her hips. "But really. I have to go find Papa and look out for him."

"Canti, please stop being difficult." For a moment, he forgot who he was dealing with. That's right. This was his awkward moody cousin, and the love of his life. He had known her since she was a small child, and never once did she ever stop being 'difficult'. "Honestly. We were left here because this is the safest place for us."

"Yeah, because that totally worked before."

"All of the eyes of Dagurreo are on our family after what happened. Security has been increased around here at Leviathan's orders. We are in the safest place for us, and that was done on purpose."

"Gods damn it, Kain. Get equipped, we're going! Right now!"

He sighed. "You were the one that told me to stop you if you were making a bad decision, and that's what I'm trying to do. Trying, being the key word here."

She shook her head. "This is different. Come on. We're going!"

"Canti... I..."

"We'll be okay. We have each other. And we're way better at defending ourselves now!"

"...because being comatose for a while and just coming home from the hospital really helps with training," Kain snapped, rolling his eyes. "This is not a smart decision, and I was named as your official guardian. I can't let you do this. Really. I can't go along with it like I always have with all of your other hairbrained ideas because the last thing I want is for you to die!"

"I don't want my father to die! I mean, that's the whole reason I'm prepared to go. It might shed some light as to what happened with us, and why Uncle Richard was killed. Don't you want to know?"

"Not if you are the price to the answer of that question!" he said, causing her to stop in her tracks. "I will accept what happened to my parents and what that means for me now. I can't do anything about that, and I know I can't. I won't be fool enough to gamble you for the chance at an answer. If it means I'm going to be the head of the family, then that's what it means. And if that means I have to keep you out of the hands of danger by force, then... forgive me for doing so. I love you too much."

"I can't accept that."

"What?"

"I love you, but you're not the only one that I love. I'll give up my everything for his sake, because he gave me a home when no other soul wanted me. I owe him that at the very least."

"That's not how he would see it."

"I don't care how he'd see it," Canti said sternly. "I don't care how you see it. I'm doing what's right by me!"

"You've always been so selfish," Kain sighed. "Why would I fall in love with someone so damned selfish?"

"That's a good question. Why would you?"

"Because you cannot control who you fall in love with," he answered. "All logic tells me I should barely be friends with you, let alone want to make you my wife... and yet, here I am. Knowing there's a chance that if I let you go through with this, you will never come back to me. I will have failed in everything I set out to do. I can't let you run off into danger."

"Kain..."

"I simply cannot do it."

"Kain. I will come back to you," she said, shrugging. "Doesn't matter where I'm going or coming from. I will always come back to you. You're the one I'm always running to. I thought you knew that."

His lips cracked a smile, and he reached to embrace her again. They shared a tight hug, gripping to each other tightly. "Then I implore you to wait all of this out," he said gently, nuzzling his cheek against her forehead.

"...oh, fine," she said. "Let's just go eat, then."

"All right. Forgive my persistence." He kissed her forehead and led her out of the room, into the grandiose hall that was far dusty than anyone had ever let it be before. They went down the stairs together, holding hands. Canti stopped a few times, staring at the door like she wanted to race out of it, but Kain would give her this glare that would keep her in place. When she went into the kitchen that used to be filled with the cooks and maids, she noticed exactly how empty it was. "Are you all right?"

She nodded hesitantly. "Kain, can I ask you..."

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure you want to live here?" she asked. "The manor, it... feels so eerie."

"Do we have a choice?" Kain wondered.

"This place doesn't feel right at all."

"What could I say to ease your mind?"

"I'm not asking you to say anything, or ease my mind," Canti said, turning away from him. "I think I understand why Papa Cid wanted his own home."

Kain reached into the fridge to pull out ingredients and fetched himself a pot. "I have no training in the culinary arts. Can't expect this to be that much above edible."

She was annoyed when he tried to change the subject. She watched that door. With him distracted, she could easily make it out. "Yeah," she agreed. "Well the last time I tried to cook something, it exploded."

"...ex-exploded?" Kain blinked, bewildered at such a thought. "H-how did you manage that?"

"Gun powder doesn't do so great in a pressure cooker."

"Gun powder?!"

"It looks so much like ground black pepper," Canti shrugged.

"What was it doing in the kitchen?"

"Don't know what it was doing there." She laughed at herself.

"Worst I've ever done in the kitchen is make inedible sludge. It, at least, looked like it used to be food."

"Yeah, the explosion destroyed one of the stoves at Garden. I was forever banned from the Cooking classes after that. Papa Cid didn't know what to make of the whole thing."

"Father never spoke ill of Cid's ability to cook."

"Papa Cid makes wonderful food!" she remembered tasting his stuffed bell peppers, chocolate chip pancakes, and hazelnut crepes. He was a real pro in the kitchen, which made her wonder why he never tried to persue that as a career instead of being a mechanic. "But I can't do it. So you might want to reconsider that idea of yours."

"Idea?"

"You mentioned that you want me to be your wife. What good is a wife that can't cook worth a damn?"

"Mother wasn't too good at it, either. She hated being in the kitchen, and spent far more time with her needles and thread as opposed to pots and pans."

"Ahh."

"Father even said that's why we even had hired chefs in the house. He couldn't eat what food she bothered making. He said she couldn't even slice an apple without it going bad."

She started to laugh out loud for a moment, easily losing her balance. She held onto the counter to keep stable as she kept laughing. "No one makes an apple go bad just by slicing it!"

"My father said that's how bad my mother's cooking really was," Kain insisted. "But. I'd love to eat her rotten apple right now, regardless."

"...yeah."

Canti looked back at the front door a few times. He seemed distracted enough. She took a few steps towards it, and Kain asked, "And where are you going?"

"To relieve myself?" she asked, and he only nodded.

She headed in the direction of the bathroom, looking back at him a few times. When he had his back turned slicing vegetables, she crept up to the front door and put her hand on the doorknob. As she turned to open it, she looked back again. Fully distracted. Good. She pulled it open, slowly as to not make any noise. Wouldn't take much of an opening for her to fit through. But once it was completely open, she found Headmaster Leviathan of all people standing there! It caused her such a shock that she fell back onto her tush.

"H-headmaster?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing at our door?"

Leviathan reached down to help her back to her feet. "Ah. Just the young lady I need to speak with!"

Kain stuck his head out of the kitchen. "I didn't hear the doorbell."

"I didn't have the chance to ring it," the headmaster answered, stepping into the manor. "She opened the door right as I was reaching for it."

"That's lovely," Canti said, rolling her eyes. One more thing to keep her from chasing after her father. "Well, I hate to be rude, but I'm stepping out for a bit. I wanna go on a walk."

"I don't know why, it's raining," Leviathan said.

"I... love walking in the rain," she said, starting to head out the door.

Kain groaned. "Oh, no you don't!" he called out. "One, how rude. Two, we've discussed this all ready. Uncle Cid said you are not to leave the manor. Too dangerous."

"Mmmm." Leviathan agreed. "Your father has your best interests at heart. Best do as he says, dear." He sat down in a chair nearby, watching the cousins' every move.

Canti reluctantly stepped back in, crossing her arms. "So," she said, bored and not caring at all as to what the answer was going to be, "What exactly brings you here today?"

"The reason I come here today is very simple," the headmaster said. "Your father will be on assignment for a while outside the barrier, Miss Cantirena."

She scowled, crossing her arms. "I thought he was retired?"

"An urgent mission came up and he took it. If you need to blame anyone, blame me. He was the best suited for it, so I insisted that he take it."

"But then why could I not go with him?"

"You must stay safe. This is of utmost priority."

She grunted. "Who cares?"

"Um, I do?" Kain raised his hand. "And you know other people care about your well being just as much as I do."

"Truth is, I'm very concerned with the both of you," Leviathan said. "Being here without a head of the family to lead can't be very easy. I know how Kain feels, so I won't bother asking him about it. Canti, I am here to offer you a position within Dagurreo that will provide you with more protection - for yourselves, your home, your family's legacy. Please, step up, and become a Senator."

She blinked a few times, not quite understanding what he was saying. "I'm sorry, Headmaster, but... what?"

"I am here to offer you a position within the Senate."

Kain watched Canti's expression contort further, feeling his brow furrow upwards. "Why would you do this?"

"Safety, security, funding, rebuilding of your family? There's quite a few reasons to accept my offer," Leviathan kept smiling. "I know you're an intelligent, talented girl. A good sense of morals. I know you would be a fantastic addition to the Senate."

"I don't want to be a politician," she insisted.

"Is there something you do want?"

"There are several things, but you aren't going to give them to me," she said, going into the kitchen. She picked up a pear and started to take a bite, trying to hide the fact that she was annoyed past the point of tolerance.

"Try me," Leviathan didn't follow her in. "I can grant a few requests, if that's what it will take."

Kain went to her side. "What are you going to do?" he whispered.

"I want him out of the manor," she answered just as quietly. "Or for us to disappear."

"Leviathan is our ally. He has never-"

"It isn't suspicious to you that he shows up right after Papa Cid leaves? That doesn't smell of bullshit to you?!"

"It... does..."

She took another bite of her pear. "Thank you, my love, for having at least half of brain." Canti rolled her eyes and stepped back out of the kitchen. "I know that what I want is something you'll never be able to grant, and-"

"I can grant you permission to... marry your adopted cousin?"